Former Anambra State Governor and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige has open up on how 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.
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‘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.’
Africa Today News, New York reports that the battle for the soul of the party has heightened in recent times.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK