Our corruption is people-driven as we share what we steal with them— Senator Ndume

Senate Chief Whip Ali Ndume has shed light on the nature of corruption among Nigerian politicians, describing it as “people-driven” and asserting it should not warrant severe punishment.

Appearing on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’ on Tuesday, Ndume admitted that politicians engage in corruption by stealing and then sharing their ill-gotten gains with the public, reports The PUNCH.

He explained, “If you compare us, politicians, to all the corruption, it is very small. Our corruption is people-driven. If you steal it, you will go and share it with the people. If you don’t, you are not coming back for four years. There is no reason for stealing.”

Ndume expressed his views on the death penalty for corruption, stating, “If the death penalty is supposed to be included in corruption, I will support it but you don’t go and kill someone that stole one million or one billion, no. But someone who steals one trillion of government money should be killed.”

The senator also voiced his support for the death penalty for drug dealers, asserting, “The death penalty is the best deterrent for those being caught for drugs. If you do drugs, you are killing people. In fact, that means you have destroyed the lives of so many people and killed so many people.”

Recently, the Senate passed the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (Amendment Bill) 2024, which prescribes the death penalty for those found guilty of trading in hard drugs and narcotics. This bill has sparked a debate among stakeholders about whether President Bola Tinubu should assent to it.

Legal practitioners have expressed differing opinions on the bill. Some urge President Tinubu not to sign it into law, arguing that the death penalty is not a solution to drug trafficking and related offenses.