Senator Ali Ndume, a Nigerian lawmaker representing Borno South in the country’s National Assembly, has warned that growing dissatisfaction across northern Nigeria could affect future elections if urgent concerns are not addressed.
Ndume spoke on Wednesday, 28 January 2026, during an interview on ARISE Television’s Prime Time, a current affairs programme on a Nigerian news channel based in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. He said the level of frustration in the North is real and should not be dismissed.
“Anybody that tells you that the North is not grumbling now is not telling the truth,” he said, adding that if the complaints are ignored, “It will be loud in their votes if nothing is done about it.”
Okay News reports that Ndume suggested the situation is still reversible, arguing that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s President and former governor of Lagos State in south-west Nigeria, can still change public mood through deliberate action and better political engagement.
Ndume Says Northern Leaders Tried Dialogue
Ndume said influential figures from northern Nigeria, including elders and leaders, have attempted to engage Tinubu through meetings aimed at offering feedback and finding solutions. He said he personally attended meetings between Tinubu and northern elders.
“I was part of the first and the last meetings with Mr. President when northern elders went to him,” Ndume said.
According to him, Tinubu came prepared for the discussions and invited senior appointees from northern Nigeria to join the engagement. Ndume described the meeting as productive, but said the follow-up process did not continue as expected.
“He promised that it would continue, but it never happened,” he said.
Criticism Of Tinubu’s Inner Circle
While Ndume said Tinubu should not take the full blame for the current tension, he argued that the President is being poorly served by some of those around him. He claimed that certain advisers lack political understanding and do not have strong links with everyday voters.
“You know what I am suspecting? The President is not the problem; it is the people around the President that are the problem,” he said.
Ndume compared Tinubu’s current leadership circle to the period when Tinubu governed Lagos State, saying the President had stronger and more capable people around him at that time.
“The President had good people around him when he was governor of Lagos; that was why he succeeded,” Ndume said, adding that “Most of the good people are not there now. They have been sidelined.”
“Elitist Isolation” Claim
Ndume also criticised some presidential aides for what he described as elite isolation and a narrow outlook. He alleged that some advisers operate mainly within high-end areas of Lagos such as Ikoyi and Victoria Island, both affluent neighbourhoods, and do not reflect wider national realities.
“He just picked people that do not know anybody,” he said. Ndume claimed some of these aides are disconnected from ordinary Nigerians and the political structure needed to manage broad public concerns.
He argued that a stronger internal team should be able to speak honestly to the President and help him understand how public frustrations are building, especially in the North, a region that holds significant voting strength in Nigeria.
Ndume warned that if the grievances being raised are not handled quickly and seriously, the dissatisfaction could deepen and become more visible at the polls during future elections.
