Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a former national press secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (NPDP), has attacked people who have criticized Chris Ngige, the minister of labor, for not publicly endorsing Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate.
When asked who he preferred between Tinubu of the APC and Peter Obi of the Labour Party during a recent interview on Channels Television, Ngige declined to publicly support anyone.
He had said, “My choice will be in the ballot box. It is a secret ballot. I shouldn’t tell Nigerians what I would do secretly.”
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Some APC leaders criticized Ngige’s decision to maintain his neutral stance and urged that the Minister step down because of his refusal to publicly declare his commitment to Tinubu.
Eze responded to the incident in a statement on Thursday, calling individuals making the calls sycophants and possessing a very limited understanding of what democracy is all about.
He said, “The campaigns are here and they should be issue-based. Citizens are allowed to extensively assess the planned policies and programs of each candidate canvassing for their votes to know who merits their support and any candidate who is able to convince the people to believe in his plans of action wins the election.
“That is the beauty of democracy and Nigerians should be happy over the progress we are making in the journey to strengthen democracy in our body of polity.
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“Ngige remains a man whose input and sacrifices to the formation of APC and the growth of our nascent democracy cannot be overemphasized.
“What did Ngige actually say to warrant such a foolish suggestion? While answering a question of who amongst Bola Tinubu of APC and Peter Obi of Labour Party he will likely vote for in the 2023 presidential election.”
Eze, a member of the APC Legacy Projects Media Team, continued by speculating as to whether individuals urging Ngige to openly choose a side were aware of the impact that action would have on the minister.
He claimed that if Ngige chooses Tinubu, his community would reject him, and if he chooses Peter Obi, some APC members would call for his resignation.
He said “I do wonder if those making such an insinuation will want Dr. Ngige to say that he will vote for Tinubu on national TV so that he will no longer be safe in his community or that he will vote for Peter Obi so that those who don’t like him will then ask for his sack.”
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According to Eze, Ngige’s capacity to make wise decisions allowed him to stay impartial.
Eze praised Ngige for his bravery and expressed happiness that President Buhari was not bothered by something so unimportant as the request for Nigige to be fired for exercising a privilege that belonged solely to him and no other single Nigerian.
“I must salute Dr. Ngige for whom he is and the level of wisdom he displayed in answering such a very controversial question. Let the candidates take their sermons to the electorates and whoever wins the heart of the majority of the electorates wins the election”, Eze declared.
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