As the political climate in Anambra state continues to heat up ahead of the 2021 governorship elections, minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Nigige and Business mongul and Oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze, have been at each other neck following the recent visit of 12 traditional rulers from the state to President Muhammadu Buhari
Senator Chris Ngige, while reacting to the visit, which has led to the suspension of the monarchs by Anambra State government, called on the Governor, Willie Obiano, to not only suspend the monarchs, but banish them , as well as Eze, who was said to have brokered the visit to the President
But the Oil magnet in a statement, issued Sunday by head of his media directorate, Okpala Okechukwu, said he would treat Ngige’s call as “ranting of an ant who, by all social and political equation, is an inconsequential product of history.”
Prince Eze expressed sadness that Ngige could ask Governor Obiano to “banish traditional rulers whose only offence was that they took a trip to Abuja to commend his boss, the president, for the magnificent jobs he is doing for the people of their geo- political zone.”
He described the call as “most irresponsible, callous, derogatory and unbecoming of an accidental minister,”adding that the minister should have known that his call was useless , adding that no section of the constitution empowers a state governor to banish or trample on the fundamental human right of any Nigerian.
He noted that the fact that Ngige had been involved in serious traditional leadership crisis in his Alor community over the Igweship, should not “becloud his sense of judgement to make calls that has no legal or constitutional backing.”
The statement regretted that for Ngige to call for action against Arthur Eze, shows how ungrateful he is, while warning him to desist from making further unpleasant comments about Prince Eze
“Let us warn that if Chris Ngige makes any further unpleasant statement against our principal we shall be left with no option than to publish some facts and materials at our disposal which will shock Nigerians on the person and individual known as the labour minister.”
