* Insists zone not marginalised by Buhari
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has blamed the elites in the South-east region of allegedly orchestrating propaganda against the federal government.
The former Anambra State governor alleged that the propaganda is provoking the troubles in some parts of the country.
Ngige in a statement issued by his media office yesterday said the Southeast is effectively represented in the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, adding the interest of the zone is also well protected.
The minister was said to have made the assertion in Abuja last Saturday at an emergency stakeholders’ meeting of the Association of Eze Ndigbo, 19 Northern States and Abuja.
The statement said the meeting was summoned to discuss the wanton destruction of lives and property in the region and the insecurity bedeviling Ndigbo as a people.
While speaking at meeting, Ngige said Buhari has shown friendship to Ndigbo, maintaining that the South-east region has gotten a fair share of what is due to the zone, especially in area of infrastructure.
He said: “There is no maltreatment there. We are in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which is composed of a minister per state. But we have one extra ministerial slot. So the Southeast is effectively represented to ensure justice is done to our people. We are there to talk when there is no justice.”
Ngige said the people can say that Igbo people were not honoured with appointments of Inspector General of Police (IG), Chief of Army Staff, and the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF).
However, he said those were positions that the zone had enjoyed before in the Nigerian federation.
According to him, “We had two IGs, Ogbonnaya Onovo and Mike Okiro.
“We had an SGF, Senator Pius Anyim. We had four Senate presidents. Twice, we produced deputy Senate president and Deputy Speaker, Ike Ekweremadu and Emeka Ihedioha respectively. They were in charge of federal budgets for eight years from 2007 to 2015. That is the rule in the National Assembly.
“So, if you now talk about appointments, it becomes a matter of perception. I won’t blame them. Perception and reality are in the same line. A lot of them don’t understand how government works. A lot of them don’t understand that I, as a member of FEC, can influence things that will come to my state; my zone or any other area and where we think things should be located or done in Nigeria. For me, those perceiving such thing are ignorant. I don’t want to use the word mischievous.
“But more importantly, propaganda against the government by the elites in the Southeast should stop because that propaganda is provoking troubles obviously. People have been brainwashed and the separatists humped on that foundation to now shout from the roof tops that we will give you Biafra, and when we give you Biafra, all these things will disappear.”
Ngige said there is no country that doesn’t have its own problems, adding that Nigeria has economic problems which have led to unemployment, and that the government is devising ways to tackle that.
Ngige said the federal government had assisted the 36 state governors with bailout funds to pay shortfall in salaries in their respective states, and went further to give them budget support to help to execute budgetary projects and programmes.
According to him, the governors in the South-east zone received the support even though when the zone was under PDP.
He said: “Infrastructure wise, if you go to the South-east region, from Enugu-Okigwe and Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt expressways, three companies, the Chinese Company, the Arab Contractors and RCC are there. Some of them have completed their work. A journey that normally takes us five hours from Enugu to Aba is now about one hour, 15 minutes. When the Port Harcourt section is finished, a journey from Enugu to Port Harcourt will take two hours.”
