Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has announced that he will publicly declare his intentions to run for the 2023 elections this week.
This was disclosed in a statement by his Press Office on Sunday evening.
The Minister also revealed that he had been consulting stakeholders in his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and several other political parties before deciding to run for the 2023 Presidential elections.
What Ngige is saying
The media office stated also that Ngige’s standpoint was informed by his belief that his aspiration had a cross-party appeal.
- Ngige said, “I visited Enugu State governor as part of my nation-wide consultation. Even though he is in PDP, he is an Igbo man.
- “He is a very realistic, discerning person. Don’t forget also that Enugu is the capital of the former Eastern Region. And you know that respect is reciprocal.
- “Over the week, I also consulted some other Nigerians not allied to any political party. Therefore, I had to consult the Enugu State governor over my intention to contest and to seek his views too.
- “He told me to kick the ball into the net.
- “So this journey is not for APC members alone. Our brothers in PDP are easily agreed that I tower above some of the persons aspiring to the position in their party.
- “I have no fear whatsoever. I am equal to the task. Even our brothers in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) will join us in the task ahead.”
The Minister added that during his time as Governor for 34 months, he achieved more than those who did eight years.
“I did 34 months during which I laid the foundation for the new Anambra. I didn’t just lay the foundation; I also took the house beyond the lintel level.
“I built schools, returned schools to the missions, rescued Odumegwu Ojukwu University from the status of a glorified secondary school – built structures there and secured accreditation for 15 courses including Law and Medicine.
“I rehabilitated and upgraded our general hospitals, including Enugwu-Ukwu, Onitsha and Amaku in Awka and restructured the state’s civil service and also introduced examination as basis for promotion.
“I built more than 500km of roads across all senatorial zones that are still standing today.
“I also inherited N42 billion debts when I assumed office. I didn’t talk about it. I put my hands on the plough and started working and cleared arrears of pensions and salaries, among others,” Ngige said.
He added that he plans “to re-engineer Nigeria the way I re-engineered Anambra”, citing that he is well equipped for the job.
What you should know
- After he declares, the minister will join Lagos State Governor and founder of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu; current Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, current Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, Transport Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the race for the highly coveted position.
LMAO! A minister that cannot even successfully negotiate with ASUU. Nigeria is increasing becoming a big joke! SMH