Oshiomhole and Ngige face-off to be resolved amicably – Lai Mohammed

Lai Mohammed

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said the face-off between National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, will be resolved amicably.

The minister gave the assurance when he fielded questions from State House correspondents after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Oshiomhole had on July 23 threatened to expel Ngige or any minister who failed to inaugurate members of board of parastatals under their supervision from the party.

However, Ngige, in a statement by the Director of Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Samuel Olowookere, said those that said he had not inaugurated the Board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) because he was awarding contracts were ignorant of the Procurement Act.

Mohammed, who also spoke on Tuesday’s defection of some members of the National Assembly from the ruling APC to Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), said the issue was not discussed during the cabinet meeting.

He said that President Muhammadu Buhari had already stated that the defectors were at liberty to belong to any political party in line with democratic tenets.

He noted that the APC was in firm control at the National Assembly, in spite the defections at the two chambers of the Assembly.

“The governing party, the All Progressives Congress APC is still having the majority in both chambers of the National Assembly,” he said.

Mohammed also reminded Nigerians of the danger of spreading fake news.