Buhari Loves Igbo People - Ngige Tells Ohaneze

Chris Ngige says Buhari's antecedents show he loves Ndigbo

- The minister for labour warns Igbos to stop isolating themselves politically, but instead, embrace other parts of the country with open hands

- He says Ndigbo would get their turn by embracing other parts of the country with open hands and not by talking about politics of alienation

Dr Joe Nwaorgu, minister of labour and employment, has dismissed claims by Dr Joe Nwaorgu, the national secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo that President Muhammadu Buhari is promoting politics of exclusionism against Ndigbo.

Speaking to reporters at the annual convention and 2016 graduation ceremony of Skill Acquisition Students of Bina Foundation, founded by Chris Atuegwu and his wife, Lady Ifeoma, over the weekend, Ngige said that Buhari’s antecedents has shown that he ‘loves Ndigbo,’ Vanguard reports.

Ngige says Buhari loves Ndigbo

Ngige also faulted claims that the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to pull the country out of the current recession was due to lack of an economic team.

According to him, those orchestrating such claims were job seekers who failed in their bid to be appointed, even as he added that the pains Nigerians were experiencing were as a result of the depletion of the country’s foreign reserve by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Ngige warned the Igbos to stop isolating themselves politically, but instead, embrace other parts of the country with open hands.

He said: “I am sure the statement did not emanate from Ohanaeze. It is the personal opinion of the Secretary General, Dr Joe Nwaorgu, who is my personal friend. Ohanaeze has means of expressing its views through press statements, which are usually signed by the President General and the Secretary. Such statements must also emanate from Imeobi (inner caucus).

“When you go to Buhari’s antecedents, you see his love for Igbo. His Brigade Commander was an Igboman. After the war, he did not kill prisoners of war. He brought back his classmates, J.C. Ojukwu and the other man from Ojoto in Anambra state. He is a good man. He keeps to himself and does not socialise but, he is disciplined in office.”

Ngige further noted that since there was an understanding that the presidency would go round, Ndigbo would get their turn by embracing other parts of the country with open hands and not by talking about politics of alienation.

On the calls for a new economic team to steer the country out of recession, Ngige said that such calls were propagated by job seekers and re-echoed by their friends in the media.

He claimed that Nigeria entered recession a long time before the Buhari administration came into office but nobody noticed it because of the huge foreign reserves accumulated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which has now shrunk to about $21billion as a result of the crash in oil prices.

Recall that President Buhari recently insisted that the country will not break-up, putting an end for the call of Biafra.

In a statement by Garba Shehu who is the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Buhari was quoted as saying focus should be on development.

He said: “The question of having another country out of Nigeria is going to be very difficult. From 1914, we have more than 200 cultures living with one another. God had endowed this country with natural resources and talented people. We should concentrate on these and be very productive.”