President Muhammadu Buhari has been called upon by the All Progressives Congress to warn his ministers and other public holders to desist from working against the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
This is contained in a statement signed and released on Saturday by the deputy National Publicity Secretary, Murtala Ajaka.
The ruling party warned public office-holders on the platform of the APC to choose between campaigning for Tinubu’s ticket or resigning their appointments from the party-led administration.
Ajaka was reacting to the public display of apathy to Tinubu’s presidential candidacy by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
The minister, who was a late-night guest on Politics Today, a popular programme on Channels Television, had hesitated when asked if he would prefer endorsing his party’s candidate or his fellow kinsman and successor, Peter Obi of the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 elections.
A clever Ngige dodged the question, saying he was no longer active in politics and would fancy his chances by making the choice at the ballot.
He said, “I’m not active in politics for now because I am facing national assignment,” he said, when asked his preferred candidate between the APC’s Tinubu and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi.
“Both of them are my friends. My choice will be in the ballot box. It is a secret ballot. I shouldn’t tell Nigerians what I would do secretly.”
But the party image-maker said Ngige’s action was unbecoming of a sitting minister in a government of the ruling party.
The statement partly read, “The presidential primary election had long ended and the party had settled for the choice of Senator Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, hence, all the party leaders should put their ambitions behind them for now to deliver the party’s presidential ticket.
“It is expected of a serving minister in an APC government to be a trusted apostle of 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 the 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.”
The APC deputy expressed concerns that such statement coming from one of their ministers could generate bad blood among the APC rank and file.
He, therefore, called on the President to call his cabinet members to order and obtain their commitments to deliver the APC in 2023.
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