You have no influence in South East – Ngige tells Obi

Dr. Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, has said that former Governor of Anambra State and the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Peter Obi has no influence in southeast.

Ngige also faulted the reported endorsement of the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, by the Ohaneze Ndigbo, saying “they went overboard in a bid to please their masters.”

According to the Minister, who was also an Anambra State Governor, Obi did not do well as governor of the state.

Ngige stated this when he spoke with some journalists at his Abuja residence on Sunday.

Ngige said he would battle Obi for votes even in Anambra Central Senatorial district where Obi may have more popularity.

He said, “the Vice President of the PDP is former governor Peter Obi my successor in Anambra state.

“I can tell you that those who are shouting that Obi is this and that are the elites who are looking for one thing or the other and people who don’t believe that Muhammadu Buhari has done something good in their lives because he is already building infrastructures for them, they want money.

“They want all the monies that has been trapped by the TSA to be pushed down again on the table for them to start taking.

“That one is no longer possible. Peter Obi hasn’t been a wonderful governor as people expected him to be because, I am the one to tell you because I know what I handed over to him. He is making noise that he handed money over to Obiano.

“I was the first to leave money. I left N13.8 billion cash in the bank and I am not counting the bank shares we bought and dividends but because of propaganda, they shouted that they left over N80 billion for Obiano and I left a lot of infrastructural work done- federal roads- of which he received close to N15 billion as refunds after my tenure.

“I was the first person to handover schools to the missionaries in Anambra state, I built more than 880km of roads. If you go there today, you will see the roads I built 15 years ago. They are still standing and most of them have no single potholes because I used first class contractors.

“So, for people to say, because he (Atiku) chose Obi this or that will happen; nothing will happen. If anything, Peter Obi has no influence in South East apart from Anambra. Even in Anambra Central Senatorial district, we are going to battle him in there.

“Presently, I can tell you that in Anambra state, me and Obi will struggle for the votes. We are not going to be pushed down like we were the last time.”