*Photo: Ngige*
By Uzogara Tobechukwu
Aside his current ministerial position, Dr Chris Ngige is a former governor and senator in Anambra State. Having cut his teeth as a trained surgeon and presidential doctor, Ngige remains one of southeast’s most respected politicians in the last 20 years.
Prior to this time, Dr Chris Ngige was one of the few Igbo politicians many looked up to for the presidency in 2023.
Notwithstanding the challenges confronting his Labour Ministry and the several industrial actions within the education and health sectors, Ngige still enjoys a large fan base within and outside his region. These are obvious political capital he could have drawn from to greatly influence who becomes the next president of Nigeria. At least, that will guarantee his political survival in the coming years.
Unfortunately, due to his hunger to hold on to his current seat and a lack of political foresight, Chris Ngige may be retiring with President Buhari by the end of this administration. His inability to have taken his campaigns seriously in order to build up some momentum has made a total mess of his disgraceful outing.
Apart from Hope Uzodinma and Dave Umahi who are serving APC governors from the southeast, Ngige would have been another big figure like Okorocha and Orji Uzor Kalu to guarantee bloc votes for any presidential candidate at the primaries.
This is an advantage he would be losing by remaining aloof as a serving minister. Ironically, Orji Uzor Kalu has also shamefully withdrawn from the race and Okorocha’s campaigns remain docile.
While it may appear smart at the moment that he pulled out of the presidential race in order to hold on to his ministerial post, it would however signal the end of his political career. By the time the current horse trading among the various presidential contenders come to conclusion, Chris Ngige would be missing on the list and his continued relevance in the politics of Anambra and Nigeria would be a thing of the past.
What a myopic way to go!
