I’ll Sack You, Oshiomhole Threatens Ngige

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has threatened to sack the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, from the party.

Oshiomhole’s threat follows Ngige’s alleged refusal to inaugurate boards of parastatals under his ministry several months after they were appointed.

The APC chair had written Ngige asking him to inaugurate all board members appointed under his ministry, but the minister responded by saying he had inaugurated three boards and was in no hurry to inaugurate that of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

However, in an interview with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Oshiomhole said “If the minister refuses we will suspend him from the party.

“For me it is the height of mischief for any minister, you cannot purport to be an honourable minister and you act dishonourably and nobody is greater than the party.

“And if the President condones disrespect for his office, I will not condone disrespect for the party. And when we expel the minister we will prevail on the president that he can’t keep him in his cabinet; people who have neither respect for his own decisions nor have respect for the party without which they would not have been ministers

“No minister is above the party and they have taken undue advantage of the president’s fatherly disposition,” he said.

Similarly, Oshiomhole questioned the alleged refusal of Minister of State (Aviation), Hadi Sirika to inaugurate some boards under his ministry.

“It is the same green pen that made them ministers that appointed these boards that they are refusing to swear in. And it is absolutely illegal for a minister in a democracy to prey on the powers of the board because the laws establishing those institutions are clear, that the boards have procedures to follow.

“So, when a minister sits in his office to appropriate the powers of the board in a democracy, not in a dictatorship, award contracts that didn’t go through boards, those are clearly abuse of office for which they are liable.

“I am convinced that what they are doing is not with the endorsement of Mr. President. Over the period they have tried to drop the president’s name but I tell them it is the same authority that appoint these people.

“So, we are informing them that it is either they comply to the president’s instructions or they comply with the party’s position or they go and administer outside the government.

“If they did that in the past, under our leadership we will not tolerate it. They either comply or we will expel them from the party. When we expel them we will find out how a government can keep a rebel in the cabinet. There is no question about that,” he said.