‘Kakistocrats’ Messing Up Your Presidency, Senator Ndume Tackles Tinubu

By Ayo Kehinde

Senator Ali Ndume, Borno South, has warned President Bola Tinubu to remove those he described as “kakistocrats” from the presidency before they do irreparable damage to his administration

Ndume, a member of the governing All Progressives Congress , APC, on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, stated that the recent discovery of an alleged fake government agency operating from an official government facility had vindicated his longstanding concerns about the competence of some officials around the President.

Speaking on Arise Television, the former Senate Chief Whip said the incident demonstrated the consequences of allowing people he considered incapable to occupy influential positions within government.

“President Tinubu has too many kakistocrats that dominate the Presidency; unless he does something about it, they will keep messing him up. It is now a known thing that Nigeria has fake agencies that operate with offices. If the President had capable hands, all these mess and embarrassments wouldn’t be happening,” he said.

Ndume said the latest development had reinforced the warning he previously gave about the quality of people surrounding the President.

“And already I’ve been vindicated on that, saying that my concern is that the President has so many kakistocrats that dominate the Presidency. And I still maintain that unless he does something about it, they will continue to mess him up”, he said.

The senator said he was particularly concerned that an organisation could allegedly operate as a government agency and secure office space within an official government establishment without the necessary authorisation.

“You can imagine right now, it’s now, you know, a known thing. In Nigeria, we had a fake agency that operated and even had an office”, he added.

According to Ndume, the investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) uncovered further irregularities, leading to the suspension of senior government officials.

“And after the ICPC did an investigation, they discovered even more. And now you have some permanent secretary or so in the Presidency again, who had to be suspended”, he said.

The senator, however, acknowledged the President’s response to the development, saying Tinubu deserved credit for taking action once the alleged irregularities were brought to his attention.

“And that is where I give the President credit”, Ndume noted.

He nevertheless maintained that the incident should serve as a warning to the President about the need to strengthen the quality of officials around him and tighten administrative controls across government.

Ndume’s latest comments are a continuation of criticisms he made against the Tinubu administration in November 2025.

Speaking on Arise Television at the time, the senator accused the government of being dominated by what he called “kakistocrats and kleptocrats”.

Kakistocracy refers to government by people considered unsuitable or incompetent to govern, while kleptocracy describes a system in which those controlling government use public power for personal enrichment.

Ndume alleged that some of the people managing the administration lacked the competence required to handle Nigeria’s domestic and international challenges.

“This government doesn’t have people,” he had said, while expressing concern about Nigeria’s diplomatic representation abroad. We don’t have ambassadors anywhere. We don’t even have a representative at the United Nations. The government is dominated by kakistocrats and kleptocrats; I want to repeat that again.”

The senator had argued that the absence of ambassadors in important countries was weakening Nigeria’s ability to project its interests and respond effectively to international criticism.

At the time, he also raised concerns over the country’s response to allegations of widespread religious killings and the international attention generated by claims that Christians were facing genocide in Nigeria.

Ndume said the government needed experienced and respected Nigerians to present Nigeria’s position to the international community and counter what he considered misleading narratives about the country.

The senator also used the November 2025 interview to criticise what he described as excessive control of access to President Tinubu.

Ndume alleged that some officials around the President were preventing people with genuine concerns from reaching him, thereby limiting the flow of independent advice to the Presidency.

“All they are concerned about is money. If you want to see the President, they’ll ask you how much”, he alleged.

He further claimed that even when he sought a meeting with Tinubu to discuss national issues, access was difficult. The only time you can see him is if you run into him at a public event. They have blocked genuine advice from reaching him”, he concluded.

Ndume argued that the President needed people around him who would be willing to tell him the truth, challenge policies when necessary and alert him to problems within government before they became public scandals.

He subsequently called for a reorganisation of the President’s team and the deployment of experienced Nigerians to help restore confidence in the country’s international representation.