Atiku’s endorsement by Ohanaeze partisan, says Ngige

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has said that the endorsement of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, by the Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo was done by members of his party who are also members of the Pan-Igbo association.

He described the endorsement as “partisan.”

Ngige said what played out was “a mere congregation of party men that hurriedly took a decision without due consultation with the real Ime-Obi Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo.”

Ngige made his feelings known in a telephone chat with journalists on Sunday in Awka.

The minister said the meeting was constituted by the President-General of the union with members of the PDP, who all passed the resolution in favour of Atiku.

“The purported decision of Ohanaeze endorsing Atiku Abubakar of the PDP as the Nd’Igbo choice was a distraction and should be disregarded by well-meaning Igbo sons and daughters.

“The decision was ill-conceived and should be ignored by Nd’Igbo, as it’s a decision propelled by PDP members in Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, hurriedly taken to drum support for their party members in the coming election,” he said.

Ngige expressed disappointment that the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation would “degenerate into meddling in partisan politics.”

He said that the people of the South-East have spoken in the rallies attended by hundreds of thousands of Igbo citizens in Enugu and Onitsha as to their political choice.

NAN