“I Said It to Tinubu Directly” – Ndume Pushes for Situation Room at the Villa

Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno State, has revealed that he personally urged President Bola Tinubu to establish a situation room in the presidential villa to receive real-time updates on the security crisis unfolding in the Northeast and Northwest.

Speaking in an interview with Channels TV, Ndume said, “The buck stops at the president’s table. I have said to his face that he needs to create a situation room in the Villa. He needs to be on the phone. He needs to call people and ask what is going on. He needs to get briefings every morning and every evening. He needs to keep his people on top of things. And the Nigerian Army needs to be given what it needs, not just promises,” he said.

Ndume also called on the government to consider engaging private military contractors and deploying attack helicopters to the most troubled areas, arguing that there was no shame in seeking specialised external support.

He pointed to firms like Blackwater and the French Foreign Legion as examples of contractors that could be deployed to critical flashpoints, noting that even the United States which currently has personnel in Nigeria routinely relied on private military contractors in its own engagements around the world.