In Defence of His Former Boss, Ngige Says Buhari’s Administration Not a Failure

* Lists railways, school feeding programme, Second Niger Bridge as former president’s achievements

Ejiofor Alike

The immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has insisted that the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari was not a failure as claimed in some quarters.

Addressing journalists yesterday, in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, while distributing palliatives to indigenes from the 21 LGAs of the state, Ngige said he was part of Buhari’s administration and witnessed projects carried out by the administration.
The former Anambra State governor listed the completion of the Second Niger Bridge, school feeding programmes, and Enugu Airport, among others, as some of the projects carried out by the last administration.

Ngige, who vowed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will take over Anambra State in 2025, explained that his faction of the party in the state remains the authentic APC in Anambra, insisting that there was no crisis in the party.
He said, “It is not true that the Buhari administration was a failure. I was part of the government and the administration completed a lot of projects, including the Second Niger Bridge, school feeding programme and numerous railways across the country.

“There is APC one and two in Anambra State. I won’t deny that fact. I am the father of APC here; I am the face of APC in Anambra State and I know for certain that we have newcomers who have been coming since the year 2021 and because the party is like a church, you don’t stop people from entering a church to seek salvation; so also you can’t stop people from entering a party to support government in power.

“We allow everybody but there is a segregation already because the new members don’t want to reckon with the old members who have laboured for the party from the time, we were SDP to ACD, AC to ACN and then finally liberated as APC when we collapsed with NNPP and CPC. These are facts, and I don’t like denying things are facts.”

While responding to how APC will wrestle the ruling APGA in Anambra for the governorship race in the state in 2025, Ngige said: “Don’t worry for us; this is politics and in politics, you disagree to agree. One day if you don’t agree, you bear the consequences. We didn’t agree in the 2021 election and the result was clear in Anambra State.

“I am optimistic that APC will take over in Anambra come 2025 for if you are not optimistic in life, then you go and commit suicide. So, optimism is with us. It is our watchword in APC. We have not done what we are supposed to do here but I am hopeful that between now and 2025, when the governorship election will be held in Anambra, we will have put our house in order and take over from APGA.”

The former minister who promised to distribute more food items like bags of garri and cartons of tomatoes to citizens next week, said: “I am still on sabbatical leave, resting and by the end of May this year when I would have rested for one year, I will decide and publicise my next line of action.
“Previously, we distributed 2,000 bags of rice, this time around, it was increased to 4,500 bags with yams because lots of homes and people are hungry and I do not want to call it poverty

“Last farming season, Nigeria was unlucky as banditry and flooding caused havoc to farmers. Food-producing areas of Anambra State were affected and more of our people fell into that category, so we have three categories of the people we are catering for – APC members, people living with disabilities and elderly from the 21 Local Government Areas of Anambra State.”