By Ahmad Deedat Zakari
Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, is set to declare his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election on Tuesday.
This is coming amidst the two-month-old strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
Ngige, who has failed to resolve the lingering impasse between ASUU and the Federal Government, said on Saturday, April 16, 2022, that God has spoken to him regarding the presidency, and he will not disappoint his supporters.
“The period of Lent ended last night; throughout the period, we communed with God. We did spiritual exercises and fasted. We talked to God and his angels, and God has talked back to us. God has spoken to me. I want to assure the people that I will not disappoint you,” he stated
Ngige added that he has the support of the trio of the APC, PDP and APGA in his ambition.
“This journey is not for the APC alone. Our brothers and sisters in PDP and APGA are in support. They know that I am more qualified than any other person from the South East. They will support me,” he said.
However, Ngige’s intended declaration does not go well with many, especially students who have been held at home by ASUU’s strike, which the Labour Minister has failed to resolve.
Maymunat Suleiman, a final year student of Chemistry at Federal University Lokoja, expressed her dismay regarding Ngige’s presidential bid during an interview with The Daily Reality.
“A presidential candidate who doesn’t take education seriously. These politicians only care about themselves and their families. I don’t see myself voting for that kind of candidate,” she said.
Another student, who preferred to remain anonymous, described Ngige’s presidential bid as a joke that should not be taken seriously.
He further decried the minister’s poor management of the ASUU’s strike, which has kept students in public universities from school.
