“The Federal Government of Nigeria has been generous to the people of the South-East; I am from the South-East. You see the President promised us infrastructure development and the South-East has not been left out," Ngige stated.
Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, has reacted to claims that the Federal Government's presence has not been felt in the South-East.
According to him, the present administration has been "generous" in developmental projects in the region.
At a briefing on Monday at Obosi in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, he highlighted infrastructural efforts in the South-East, stating that: “The Federal Government of Nigeria has been generous to the people of the South-East; I am from the South-East. You see the President promised us infrastructure development and the South-East has not been left out.
“When you talk about infrastructure, you are talking about transport, road infrastructure, air infrastructure, sea, health and power infrastructure. In all these areas, we (South-East) have not been left untouched. If you drive from Enugu now to Awka, you will see the work that is ongoing on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway; if you go there and see the thickness of asphalting work, you will marvel.”
He also expressed his intention to return to the Senate.
Ngige, who was a member of the Upper Chamber between 2011 and 2015, disclosed that he is under pressure from his constituency to contest.
He said: “The people who are pressurising me are my constituents; the people of Anambra State and some prominent people from the South-East. We are all in agreement that we need to go and better the milieu of the ninth Senate. Many people feel that the present eighth Senate has been engulfed in a battle of supremacy with the executive and they feel that some of us who have tested the executive and legislature should go back. The Senate is not for kindergartens."
On what his eventual decision would be, he said: “I am considering it. I am consulting and the result of my consultations will be made known in a fortnight.”