President Buhari and Dr. Chris Ngige during his swearing-in as Minister of Labour and Productivity
While speaking in Enugu State at the Town Hall session for the
South-East region organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and
Culture, some people from the South-East region on Monday, booed the
Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, after he tried to
defend appointments so far made by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to SaharaReporters, as the minister spoke, he was repeatedly jeered by those in the hall who kept shouting “No no no”, and at a point, the hall became uncontrollable, and it took a lot of efforts for organisers to restore order.
The minister had tried to defend President Buhari’s appointments,
saying a leader must be allowed to work with people he could trust, a
line of argument that sparked further jeers, as some of those at the
event expressed displeasure at the level of neglect they said the region
was facing.
Among the issues raised was the ongoing forgery trial of the Deputy
Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, with the Ohanaeze Ndigbo vowing to
resist any move to remove him.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and other notable speakers,
including Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, urged the Buhari-led government
to fulfill its promises to the people of the zone.
The governor said the appeal became imperative following the
epileptic power supply and bad roads in the region. He also tasked the
Federal Government to make a substantial investment in the Ugwuoba Gas
Field in Oji River local government area of the state.
“I recall the president’s campaign promise to revive the coal mines in Enugu and utilise it to generate electricity.
“Coal is a major energy source in some countries of the world,
and we have it in abundance in the state. If this is done, it will
directly or indirectly create job opportunities for millions of
Nigerians,” the governor said.
Archbishop Chukwuma who spoke at the event, warned against the dire
consequences of removing Ike Ekweremadu, and advised the Imo State
Governor, Rochas Okorocha, and other APC members to desist from hatching
any plot to oust Ekweremadu, saying such an action would jeopardize
Nigeria’s unity.
Okechukwu Isiguzoro, who is the President of the Ohanaeze Youth
Council (OYC), said “the plot by some forces within the APC to remove
Ekweremadu is a very dangerous dimension.
“Ekweremadu is not a product of the South-East but the entire
Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, any attempt to remove him
as the Deputy Senate President will be resisted by the Ohanaeze Youth
Council. We will make this place very hot for any person, groups, or
cabal that tried to remove Ekweremadu.
“We will match to the National Assembly straight away, occupy
the place and resist any move by anybody within the government of Buhari
to remove Ekweremadu. It won’t happen,” he said.
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