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… denies having met the British high commissioner for the tests of the head of the IPOB
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
Labor and Employment Minister Senator Chris Ngige has warned the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) to stop linking it to the re-arrest of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Ngige, who denied participating in the IPOB chief’s ordeals, said he was too committed to his duties as the country’s director of labor and therefore lacked time to meddle in security and safety issues. diplomacy, which clearly falls within the mandate of the Nigerian national security and intelligence agencies.
A statement released by Senator Ngige’s media office in Abuja over the weekend characterized IPOB spokeswoman Emma Powerful’s statement as attempting to link the minister to Mazi Kanu’s arrest as misleading , mischievous, malicious and mean, adding that IPOB and the spokesperson for IPOB, know him very well as a man who calls “a spade a spade” and has no room for equivocation or the word of two sides of mouth since his days as governor of Anambra state.
The statement read in part: “The attention of the Honorable Minister of Labor and Employment, Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige (OON) was drawn to a series of fictitious social media reports linking him to the arrest. from the leader of the Native. Peoples of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“The first of these reports alleged that Senator Ngige and the Chief Senate Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, had visited the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing, to discuss IPOB affairs, in as supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari.
As if that weren’t enough, the same disinformation merchants besieged social media and this time the Sahara Reporters, with another fabricated, smelly and vexatious report alleging that Senator Ngige, Governor Willie Obiano, Governor Nyesom Wike and Sir Emeka Offor, conspired and betrayed Nnamdi Kanu and aided in his arrest.
“Going through the news, while they alleged that Governors Obiano and Wike had financed the operation and that Sir Emeka Offor was proposing to create a parallel Radio Biafra, no role was attributed to the Honorable Minister.
“So this so-called report from the IPOB-M Branch intelligence unit is nothing but massive tissue of hell well lies, as far as the minister is concerned.
“Therefore, we want to use this medium to set the record straight for the benefit of unsuspecting members of the public who may have been deceived by the evil lies spread on social media by unscrupulous and mischievous characters including the the intention is to slander the person. of the Honorable Minister and thereby discredit him.
“First, Ngige never visited the British High Commissioner in Nigeria to discuss IPOB affairs. As it turns out, on May 13, 2021, the Minister was returning from an official meeting of the Economic Sustainability Committee held in the Presidential Villa and passing through, paid a courtesy visit to his brother and friend, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji. Uzor Kalu whose house is near the Villa Pilot Gate.
“Coincidentally, Kalu had guests at his house at the same time. Senator Kalu introduced his guests, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria and his officials and the Minister exchanged pleasantries with them, stayed briefly and left after a group photo.
“During this ‘chance encounter’, there was never a time when the outlawed IPOB business arose. Senator Kalu had also debunked this report in an earlier statement through his media assistant, setting out this same narrative.
“Unfortunately, it is this photograph that was published earlier in the Sun newspapers that these malicious people are now circulating in revenge on the Minister and Senator Kalu.
Second, the IPOB report, published in Sahara Reporters, alleging that Ngige, Willie Obiano, Nyesom Wike and Emeka Offor conspired and betrayed Nnamdi Kanu is the figment of the writers and the IPOB spokesperson. , Mr. Emma Powerful and his likes that thrive in evil, brainwashing and deception.
“Everyone knows that the Ministry of Labor is one of the most active ministries in the country today because of the many social conflicts resulting from the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and by extension, on the incomes of employees and employers, requiring continuous bickering and renegotiations of collective agreements (CBA) in all public and private sectors.
“Ngige is busy, involved and engrossed in his duties as Minister of Labor and Employment, a member of the Federal Cabinet Committee for Economic Recovery and a member of the Economic Sustainability Committee formed by President Muhammadu Buhari, which is chaired by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, with the mandate to address the challenges and fallout of COVID-19 and the post-COVID-19 era.
“Most recently, he was appointed a member of the National Steering Committee (NSC) of the National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (NPRGS) to work diligently to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
“All these elements are moreover other demanding commitments of the Minister of Labor and Employment, playing a supervisory role on several federal parastatal organizations under his ministry. On these missions, the minister puts all his energy and his wealth of experience not to disappoint all Nigerians.
“It is therefore unthinkable that a person with gray matter in the brain, unless he hallucinates like the spokesperson for IPOB, could accuse a very busy minister like Senator Ngige of being part of a ‘ plot ‘for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu.
“The minister, having a long experience in the public service, knows the limits of his function and does not have time to meddle in foreign extradition and security matters which clearly fall within the mandate of the Nigerian diplomatic missions,” intelligence agencies.
“Ngige is neither the Minister of Police, Justice, Foreign Affairs nor the National Security Advisor to begin discussing matters of extradition or arrest of a fugitive outside the territory of Nigeria, which are clearly outside its mandate. “
The statement added: “If these false reports are aimed at persuading Ngige to lend his voice to the discordant voices condemning or welcoming the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu or calling for his unconditional release, then the propagators have failed because he has long decided not to do anything. comment. for or against Kanu because he is already on trial in a competent court for treason.
“Ngige is someone who believes in the rule of law and prefers to let the law take its course rather than get involved in discussing any issue that neither adds nor takes away from the trial process.
“Therefore, the Minister did not and will not, at this point in the country’s history, waste his precious time discussing such matters or any matter relating to IPOB.
“The Minister’s previous views on violent and misguided secessionist unrest are well known and can be seen online in his interview with Channels Television broadcast on Monday, June 14, 2021.
“He is a patriot and a staunch supporter of a united and indivisible Nigeria based on justice, equity and fair play. Her position has not changed and it is unlikely that she will change in the near or distant future. He saw and participated in the war and until today he describes the war as “evil” and as an “evil wind” which does not blow any good camp.
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