October 09, (THEWILL) – Deputy Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Murtala Ajaka, has asked the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to resign if he can’t support the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Ajaka made the comment while reacting to Ngige’s remarks on who to endorse between Tinubu and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Responding to questions on Friday, when he featured on ‘Politics Today’ a Channels Television programme, on who to support between Tinubu and Obi in 2023, Ngige said, “Both of them (Tinubu and Obi) are my friends. My choice will be in the ballot box. Whether conscience or no conscience, on that day in February, I’ll have one vote. It is a secret ballot, and I shouldn’t tell Nigerians what I would do secretly.”
However, in a statement on Saturday, Ajaka berated the Minister over his comment
He said, “It is expected of a serving minister in an APC government to be a trusted Apostle of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidency in 2023, who along other party leaders laboured to ensure the enthronement of the same government in 2015, which they are now serving in.
“Chief Ngige and other APC appointees, especially in the federal cabinet should not forget in a hurry that they are holding onto the party’s mandate, hence the need to protect it with whatever it requires, but if they can no longer protect the interest of the APC in public and that of our presidential candidate (Tinubu), I think the honourable thing to do is to step aside from the government formed by the APC.
“With this type of public comment from a sitting minister in a ruling party who cannot declare on national television his choice of a presidential candidate, how on earth is the party expected to fare in the forthcoming presidential election?”
About the Author
