- Prof. Aloysius Okolie applauded the Senate for suspending Senator Ali Ndume

- He said he should have investigated the claims before making allegation

- The UNN lecturer also advised President Buhari to re-nominate another EFCC chairman

Prof. Aloysius Okolie has lashed out at Senator Ali Ndume saying he deserves to be suspended by the Senate for trying to blackmail it.

Ndume was suspended by the Senate for six months after he called for investigation into allegations that that Senator Dino Melaye did not graduate from Ahmadu Bello University and Senate president, Bukola Saraki was involved in the purchase of a bullet-proof vehicle.

The duo was however cleared by the Senate committee on ethics and according to Vanguard, the professor of political science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka said Ndume was wrong for basing his allegation on what he read in the news.

Senate was right by punishing Ali Ndume - Prof

He said: “As a distinguished senator, he should not talk like ordinary man on the street; he must have facts and figures before casting aspersion on anybody.

READ ALSO: Army will bring Abubakar Shekau to justice – General Enenche

“He claimed he read about the alleged certificate forgery of Sen. Dino Melaye and importation of bullet proof Range Rover SUV by the Senate President in newspapers.

“That is not enough to blackmail the Senate.

“Ndume should have gone further to carry out a personal investigation to verify if the allegations are true or false before jumping into conclusion.”

He said the Senate followed due process before it punished Ndume.

“If the two allegations are true, Nigerians and the world would have celebrated Ndume as one who brought the issue to the floor; but now they are false, so he should also bear the consequences.

“This is good lesson for whistle blowers; there is nothing wrong in blowing the whistle, but you must ensure you have facts and figures of what you are saying.

“It’s unfortunate that Ndume’s suspension will deny Borno South Senatorial District a voice in Senate for six months.

READ ALSO: If I see something wrong, I'l do another memo - Nasir El-Rufai

“But it will also provide opportunity for his people to assess if he has given the district effective representation.”

Okolie also advised President Muhammadu Buhari to nominate another person as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes considering that the Senate has rejected him.

He said: “If I am Mr President, I will nominate another person as EFCC chairman and give Magu another appointment to avert further row with the Senate.”