Fides Media Living the Faith
By Ikeugonna Eleke
Former Anambra State governor and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has revealed that he was offered money to accept the victory of the candidate of the party in the just concluded governorship election, Senator Andy Uba.
Ngige said he was aware that no primary election took place to nominate Uba as the flag bearer of the party in the state, but some people were offering him money to accept that the election went well.
Ngige who was addressing members of the party on New Year’s Day in his community, Alor, said he rejected the money because it was against his conscience.
’13 persons went for the election (primary) and I told them I did not have an anointed aspirant. I told them it was God who made a governor; it was also God who made a president. I told them to go to the field and convince everyone to vote for them.
‘I told them what was going to happen was direct primary, either by secret ballot or option A4. These aspirants listened to me and used their hard earned money to run for the election.
‘None of them is a thief or stole money; so they used their hard earned money and we did a primary election and we said everyone would go to their ward, that voting would take place from 8am to 4pm.
‘I even came from Abuja to participate in the process. Somebody of my status could not vote. I didn’t see any electoral materials here in Alor Ward One. I am from this place, no electoral officials or materials except INEC officials. These were the only people who came, our party officials never came.
‘By 5pm, I called Governor Dapo Abiodun and told him nothing happened. I told him to postpone the election from Saturday to Monday; he said okay, but they ended up announcing the result,’ Ngige recalled.
Ngige who however failed to disclose who offered him money, said that at the end they said he should come and take money and say that the election held.
‘I, Chris Ngige, should come and take money and say an election that I never participated in has held. I told them I had all the money I needed, and that I had contested for all the positions I needed to contest for. It was only one position that I had not contested for. We are the founding fathers of this party, these were the same people who stood against us in the early days of APC and called us Boko Haram Party.
‘Today, they are saying Ngige does not want people to come in and that I am now putting people who are my brothers in positions. Do not listen to them, they are lying,’ Ngige further said.
The minister who also spoke about the decision to make Uba the leader of the party in the state, said there was nothing like leader in APC’s Constitution. If you want to answer leader, you answer, but there is no such thing in the constitution of the APC.
He said that the 2023 Election was the reason for those he described as wayo (fraudsters) people were moving about, as they had gone to collect money from people that they would work for. He insisted that such people would not be allowed to succeed.
‘Now they are going about saying they have written the names of the people who will become the ward, local government and state executives, but do not listen to them. It was the same way they wrote election results for Anambra Election and were going about, but when they brought it, it was dismissed.
‘It is same way they will dismiss the list they are bandying about today. We will hold a very credible congress in Anambra State,’ Ngige assured.