‘South East Is Not Marginalised’, Says Nigerian Minister Ngige

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has said that the South-Eastern part of Nigeria is fairly represented and accorded its due entitlements by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

Ngige said that the zone was not being marginalised as perceived by some individuals and warned elites in the southeast who according to him “are orchestrating propaganda’ to desist from doing so.

He said, “There is no maltreatment there. We are in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which is composed of a minister per state. But we have one extra ministerial slot. So, the South East is effectively represented to ensure justice is done to our people. We are there to talk when there is no justice.

READ ALSO: “I Support Buhari’s Suspension Of Twitter”, Says Ned Nwoko

“People can say that we are not honoured with appointments of Inspector General of Police, Chief of Army staff and Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF). These are positions we have enjoyed before in the Nigerian Federation. We had two Inspectors General of Police (IGP), Ogbonnaya Onovo and Mike Okiro. We had an SGF, Senator Pius Anyim. We had four Senate Presidents. Twice we produced Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker, Ike Ekweremadu and Emeka Ihedioha. They were in charge of federal budgets for eight years from 2007 to 2015. That is the rule in the National Assembly.