A group, the Ndiezes, has dissociated from the purported statement credited to the Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, that he was unanimously endorsed by a resolution from the association.
According to the association, it was not as reported in some media organs.
The President-General of IDA, Chief Chi Nwogu, was also misquoted in the said newspaper reports as he was misrepresented from his speech.
In a press statement issued by the president of Ndieze in the Diaspora, Eze Boniface Ibekwe, the Ndiezes of the 19 Northern states, the FCT and Igbo Delegates Assembly (IDA) “are calling on all Nigerians, sons and daughters of the South-east extraction to disregard and discountenance the statement credited to Dr. Chris Ngige as he has not even declared for president.”
They said although Ngige “is the son of the South-east and can aspire to any office of his choice, at this occasion of exchange of ideas, the association has not made their choice known or endorsed any aspirant for the position of president.”
They, therefore, called on the media to always get their facts right before publishing, as the association “is focused on the economic and political emancipation of its people in Nigeria and the Diaspora.”
The association reiterated that it would make its choice or endorsement of any credible aspirant known at the appropriate time.
The statement read in part, “The attention of the Ndiezes Igbo and the Igbo Delegates Assembly (IDA) has been drawn to the statement credited to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige (Onwa) that the Ndiezes in the 19 States of the North and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as well as the Igbo Delegates Assembly (IDA) have endorsed him for 2023 Presidency, at a recent event held in Abuja.
“The report made roads in some select newspapers and media platforms Sunday, April 10, 2022, insinuating that the Ndiezes and IDA support his presidential bid. The Ndiezes from the 19 Northern states and the FCT, as well as the IDA want to make a categorical statement that Dr. Chris Ngige was never endorsed on any ground whatsoever as other party chieftains and aspirants like Dr. Nwachukwu Anakwenze also graced the occasion. They graced the occasion to felicitate and rejoice with the Igbo leaders from the 19 states, the FCT, and in the Diaspora.”
