Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Chris Ngige says President Muhammadu Buhari has tolerated a lot from critics, reiterating that many Nigerians want to stretch him (Buhari) beyond reasonable limits.
Ngige spoke while featuring on a monitored Channels Television programme on Monday night.
“Can President Obasanjo give you people the latitude?… He will not grant you people that! So, this president (Buhari) is a willing horse and you people (Nigerians) want to ride him to death,” Ngige said during the show.
The former Anambra State governor while stressing that the present government has delivered its promises in many areas, called on critics and members of the public to give kudos to the Buhari government.
“There must be a limit to politicking. If a government has done well, if a person has done well, give him accolades. In the areas he has not done well, point them out and discuss,” he added.
Calls for the presidential seat to be zoned to the southeast region have gathered momentum and sharply divided opinion in Africa’s most populous nation.
But Ngige has concurred with those who see the 2023 election as a time for the Igbos to get the seat.
Ngige believes that tensions in the southeast and the feeling of marginalization by people in the region will be addressed if the nation’s number one position is occupied by an Igbo man.
“The people in the area have perceived that they are marginalized, that they are unappreciated, whether it was done by propaganda and brainwashing or not, that is now immaterial.
“So I agree with that proposal, unfortunately, the Nigerian constitution does not have that. This is where I quarrel with those who authored the 1999 Constitution.
“I still believe today, tomorrow, that the Abacha Constitution of 1995 that espouses rotational presidency into the six zones in Nigeria, a single five-year tenure in order to heal all the wounds; the wounds of civil war, and the wound of June 12.
“Now, that constitution would have been the best constitution for Nigerians to use for the next 30 years by which the six zones would have tested the presidency,” the minister stated.
