The Nigeria Labour Congress has warned President Muhammadu Buhari not to reappoint Dr Chris Ngige as the Minister of Labour and Productivity in the next cabinet, stating that reappointing him would create industrial crisis, because he lacked the approach to lead workers.
Towards the end of Ngige’s tenure as labour minister, there were clashes between him and labour leaders over his delay in inaugurating the board of the National Social Insurance Trust Fund more than three years after the expiration of the tenure of the last board.
Labour also took on him over his exclusion of Frank Kokori as the chairman of the board. The union held a protest against him in his house which led to a fracas that landed some NLC members at the National Hospital in Abuja after they were allegedly attacked by thugs. President of the NLC, who led the protest alleged that the thugs were sent by Ngige to attack NLC members.
The Nigeria Medical Association, National Association of Resident Doctors, labour unions and some Nigerians also took on Ngige over his comment on a televised programme that Nigeria had no problem with doctors moving abroad for greener pastures because there were enough of them in the country to man hospitals.
The Secretary of the NLC, Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, who spoke in an interview, said that to avoid industrial actions, Federal Government needs to reassign Ngige to another ministry.
He said, “We think that government will be looking for problem if Ngige is returned to the Ministry of Labour and Productivity as minister because he does not understand how the place works and his own approach will create unnecessary industrial crisis.
“If government is properly advised, it should look for where to put him. Ngige is a square peg in a round hole in the ministry.”
Also in another interview in Abuja, the Head of Information at the National Union of Pensioners, Bunmi Ogunkolade, said pensioners would not welcome the former minister to the ministry.
He said, “Pensioners under the NUP will not wish Ngige to return to the ministry of labour. The President should take him to oversee another ministry. We don’t want him at the ministry again. He is a medical doctor, so why not take him to the Ministry of Health to be minister there? He might do well there since that is his field. This is our official position on Ngige’s return as a minister.”
Meanwhile, the Personal Assistant to Ngige, Nwachukwu Obidiwe, said Ngige had no power to assign a ministry to himself, adding that all the problems that the ministerial nominee had with labour unions were settled before the end of his first term in office as a minister.