Politics

‘I Rejected Money To Accept Uba’s Purported Victory At Anambra Primary Election’ – Ngige

Published

4 years ago

January 2, 2022

Editor

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 do not have anointed aspirant. I told them it is God who makes a governor, it is also God who makes 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 primaries, 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 will take place from 8 am to 4 pm.

“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, with no electoral officials or materials except INEC officials. There were the only people who came, our party officials never came.

“By 5 pm, 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 who however failed to disclose who offered him money said: “At the end, they said I should come and take money and say 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 have all the money I needed, and that I have contested for all the positions I needed to contest for. It is only one position that I have 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 position. Do not listen to them, they are lying.”

Ngige who also spoke about the decision to make Uba the leader of the party in the state said: “There is nothing like a leader in APC constitution. If you want to answer leader, you answer, but there is no such thing in the constitution of the APC.”

He said: “2023 is the reason all these wayo people are here moving about, they have gone to collect money from people that they will work for them, but we will not allow them.

“Now, they are going about saying they have written the names of the people who will become the ward, local government and state executive, but do not listen to them. It was the same way they wrote election results for the Anambra election and were going about, but when they brought it, it was dismissed.

“It is the same way they will dismiss the list they are bandying about today. We will hold a very credible congress in Anambra State.”

Politics

Obasanjo, Atiku, Obi Meet In Abuja

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi met in Abuja on Saturday.

The trio were among prominent political figures who attended the Tambuwal Colloquium, titled “Leadership, Service and Statesmanship at 60,” held at the New Event Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, in honour of the 60th birthday of former Sokoto State Governor and Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Atiku confirmed his presence at the event in a post on his X handle, stating that he had arrived at the venue for the colloquium organised to mark Tambuwal’s milestone birthday.

The former vice president also shared images of himself, Obasanjo and Obi at the event.

The event attracted political leaders, statesmen and stakeholders from across the country.

Politics

PANDEF Wades Into Rivers Crisis, Sets Up Seven-member Mediation Team

Published

16 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has intervened in the political crisis in Rivers State, calling on all actors to sheathe their swords and embrace peace in the interest of the development of the state and the region in general.

Expressing concern that the political disagreement involving the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly might degenerate to total lawlessness, the Board and National Executive Committee of PANDEF set up a seven-member reconciliation team to resolve the issues.

The team, which is headed by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, has six other members.

They are Senator Obende Domingo (Vice Chairman); Chief Essien Nduese; Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agari; Chief Mike Ejiofor; Mrs Nella Rabana-Andem, SAN; and Prince Godwin Okotie, the Deputy National Secretary of PANDEF, who will serve as the secretary of the team.

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”