Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, has denied making any comments that were attributed to him in a social media report about the chances of the three front-runners in the presidential election on Saturday.
Josef Onoh, the spokesperson for the Southeast All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential Council, was also chastised by Ngige for bringing up Igbo political office holders who had benefited from the APC but refused to contribute to it.
The former governor of Anambra State responded by calling the social media post “fabricated and fictitious” in a statement released by his media office in Abuja on Wednesday. He urged the public to ignore the false information.
According to the statement, the report is the handiwork of political jobbers who believe they could gain more patronage from their paymasters by spreading disinformation and fake news about Sen. Ngige on social media.
Ngige recalled he had earlier this year given reasons why he would not support or campaign for any presidential candidate out of the four front-runners, adding that this position has not changed.
The statement read, “My attention has been drawn to the viral report in the social media, saying that I asked Igbos not to waste their votes on the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi. The same fake report quoted me as labeling both the Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as bunch of PDP looters, with the aim to come back to power to continue inflicting pains on Nigerians through the instrumentality of corruption and looting. It further claimed that I boasted that the progressives will remain in power in 2023 and that Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu will take over from President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Ordinarily, I am not given to responding to everything I see on social media, knowing how misleading and deceptive a substantial number of them could be. But, following the bombardment of my phone by concerned friends, relations and associates, both political and apolitical, I wish to use this medium to debunk this fake report, which neither emanated directly from me or my media office.
“The report is concocted, fictitious and fake. It is the handiwork of disingenuous political jobbers who believe they could get more credit alerts from their paymasters by circulating falsehood about His Excellency, Sen. Dr. Chris Ngige on social media.”
“Recall that earlier on January 2 this year, while distributing his annual Christmas largesse to APC members, indigent, widows and aged persons in his hometown, Alor, Idemili South LGA of Anambra State, I stated in black and white that I had no preferred candidate out of the four frontrunners, namely, Peter Obi of Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of PDP, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of our own, APC and Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of NNPP. I wish to reaffirm that they are all good candidates with cognate experience at the federal and state levels and are all my friends. They are well known to me, having worked with me in one way or the other before now. As of today, my position on the presidency has not changed. I don’t think there is anything that has happened to warrant me to change my position.”
The minister therefore urged members of the public to disregard the report, describing it as a bundle of disinformation, meant to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
Regarding the unguarded utterances made against him by Josef Onoh in the media, Ngige said he would have joined issues with him if the statement was made by his father, the former Governor of old Anambra State, late Chief C.C. Onoh.
According to the Minister, things that elders see while on the ground, Josef Onoh would not be able to see, even on top of the palm tree.
“If this was coming from his father, Okaaomee Ngwo, Aninefungwu and the Liberation Leader of the Wawa people of Southern Nigeria, it would have made sense and Ngige would reply. But, coming from a latter day joiner of APC, just less than six months old in the party, and not knowing how the party was formed, and the contributions of each person, we would leave him with his ignorance to continue with his job hunting.”
Speaking further, Ngige said, “If he were Okaaome’s true son, he would have contested and won an Executive or Legislative seat, instead of maligning elders. He should also get the historical information about his father’s journey to the then Anambra State Governorship and he would find the name of the young Dr Chris Ngige who was the National Assembly Physician to Senate President Joseph Wayas.
“Once again, for the records, Sen. Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige OON, the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment has made it abundantly clear that he would not campaign for any of the four frontrunners for the presidency because they are all hs friends and brothers, and he had one or two political dealings with each and every one of them, and hence, his conscience will not permit him, doing so.”
Sen. Ngige assured that on Election Day, he would pray for all the contestants and vote according to the dictates of his conscience.
He wondered why minions of one or two candidates would not allow him to concentrate on his national assignment of assisting the present administration to finish strong, but instead go about peddling all kinds of fake narratives, aimed at either setting him against the party he was part of its conception and birth, his Igbo ethic group or some candidates.
“This group of job seekers like Josef Onoh is warned to beware.”