Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has said that he would not resign despite his intention to contest the Presidency.
Ngige said he was unaware of a directive by the All Progressives Congress for political appointees to resign.
The minister said this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after the Wednesday Federal Executive Council meeting.
According to him, since the March 18 judgment of the Federal High Court in Umuahia struck out section 84(12) of the recently signed Electoral Act 2022, he is under no pressure to resign.
“I’ll be guided by the letters and spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That aspect of the law enacted by the National Assembly, via the Electoral Act, Section 84(12) has been struck down by a court of law and the cases are on appeal. And for now, no matter how bad the judgment is, that’s the maximum jurisprudence. No matter how bad the law is, it is a judgment of the court, it should be obeyed, until upturned or stayed.
“But there is no stay, there’s no atonement of that particular pronouncement, and the party is on appeal. So the judgment is still subsisting. That aspect of the law was injurious to some persons and should not have been there.
“I also know that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in sections 107, 137 and 88, prescribes disqualification clauses for people who are going for election and that prescription is supreme because it’s in the constitution and the constitution is the grundnorm of all laws,” he said.
On the N100m fee for the nomination and expression of interest form, the labour minister said, “Well, that is the people’s views. I had said earlier that I made a budget for N50m, and it is now N100m.
“So I have discussed with my supporters, and they are raising the money to augment whatever is before now. So when they finish augmentation, I believe that we’ll get up to N100m so that we can purchase our form.”
