Chris Ngige, minister of labour who is seeking to contest
the presidency, says he doesn’t need to resign over section 84(12) of the
Electoral Act 2022.
He spoke on Thursday when he featured on Channels
Television.
There has been controversy over the aforementioned section
which states: “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate
or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the
purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
According to Ngige, the section does not apply to him as he
falls under the ‘public officer’ category in the constitution.
“The constitution is
the grand norm – the biggest and heaviest of all the laws. Section 137 has
given areas of qualifications for presidential candidates. The constitution
says public officers should resign one month to election,” he said.
“The issue now is ‘is the minister a public servant’? Yes,
I’m a public servant. Go to schedule 5, you’ll see me listed there – ministers,
commissioners, governors, vice-president, president and heads of ministerial
bodies.
“They listed all of us and gave certain things you should
not do, because as a public officer, you cannot take two jobs that have
executive positions and receive salaries on them; you cannot do business or
trade or be a contractor; that area says you can only do farming as a public
officer, and inhibits me and others from operating foreign accounts. A public
officer is a public servant.”
He also spoke on the N100 million fixed by the All
Progressives Congress (APC) for the presidential nomination form.
“That’s what my party NEC fixed. Whether I’m happy with that
or not, that is their own postulation. They have done their calculation; they
have done their work. And Abdullahi Adamu, the chairman, is a very serious man
if you know him well. He was my colleague in the governors’ forum and he was my
colleague in the seventh senate. He’s a very serious-minded person,” Ngige
said.
“For Adamu to say N100 million, he has seen certain things.
I was a party official in PDP unfortunately, and a NEC member, so I know the
workings of a party. I’m not going to crucify them or say ‘crucify them’.
“Let me give you a critical example. After the selling of
these forms, candidates emerge. When you tell them to contribute to the party,
you won’t see them. That’s our experience in PDP, ACN, APC. And they have done
the right thing to encourage the young ones that they have 50 percent discount.
That’s magnanimous enough.
“I was budgeting N50
million — I and my supporters. But when the thing came out and it’s N100
million, they have started calling me. I have supporters, well-wishers. Don’t
worry about me.”
On why he thinks he qualifies for the presidency, Ngige said
his time in the civil service has given him the necessary experience.
“I’ve been in public service for 40 years. I started work in
Lagos in 1981 as a medical officer 1, and rose to become deputy director. I
understand the civil service. I have passed through the mills of the public
service of Nigeria – both political party-wise, civil service-wise,
legislature, executive at state and national level. I know the problems. I’m in
the room,” he said.
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