Controversial Names On The Ministerial List

The Senate president Bukola Saraki on Tuesday, October 6 at the plenary released the list containing 21 nominees for various ministerial appointments in Nigeria. Among those on the list are five people who are known for various levels of controversies in the country.

Ministerial list

1. Chris Ngige

Ngige a senator representing Anambra central senatorial district was born on August 8, 1952.

In November 2013, the senator was alleged to have slapped a priest during a funeral Nanka, Agulu, Anambra state after the priest was said to have been standing on the senators way.

Eye witnesses to the incident said Ngige who was not satisfied with the slap also asked his guards to beat up the priest.

Ngige is also known for the controversial circumstances which his election as a governor in Anambra state came to bare in 2003.

In his 33 months in office as governor, Ngige was criticised for appearing naked before the infamous Okija shrine in Anambra state.

Subsequently, the senator broke ties with his political godfather Chris Uba after an unsuccessful attempt to remove him from office using a forged resignation letter which was received by the senate in July 2003.

Again, in 2010 Ngige contested for governorship election in the state alongside Andy Uba, Charles Soludo, Nicholas Ukachukwu, Uche Ekwunife, Ralph Nwosu, and the incumbent governor, Peter Obi who won the election.

In all, there were 25 candidates for that election. Peter Obi won that election and started his second term as the governor of Anambra state.

An election tribunal later nullified Ngige’s 2003 victory in favour of Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Surprisingly, Ngige accepted the judgement of an election tribunal which nullified the 2003 victory in favour of Peter Obi of All Progressives Grand Alliance. He also called on the people of Anambra to give their total support to Obi.

2. Rotimi Amaechi

During the past administration, Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state was popularly known as the most controversial governor in Nigeria.

He won the gubernatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and later decamped to the All Progressive Congress (APC) when the polity became heated up because of his involvement with the APC.

But in July 2013, after Amaechi contested the former president Goodluck Jonathan over the Nigerian governors forum chairmanship, a lawmaker Evans Bipi led a group of five lawmakers to oppose Amaechi at the state’s house of assembly.

This subsequently led to series of controversies between the presidency, the first lady and the former governor.

As expected, Amaechi formerly decamped from PDP to All Progressive Congress (APC) on November 27, 2013.

3. Babatunde Fashola

While in office as the governor of Lagos state, Fashola was loved by all, his achievement spanned from the fight against the deadly ebola virus which ravaged Nigeria in July 2014 to education, infrastructural restructuring of Lagos state and public safety and security.

Fashola with his public health team and communications experts managed the spread of the disease in the state.

However, on leaving office on May 29 series of allegation trailed the former governor.

First, he was accused of spending N78 million from the state’s coffers to upgrade a personal website. He was also accused of spending a whooping N139 million on two boreholes in the state. The APC leader, Bola Tinubu also distanced himself from the allegations against Fashola. Tinubu denied his involvement in attacks on Fashola.

4. Lai Mohammed 

Lai Mohammed, APC’s spokesperson have been in the news since the actualisation of the party. He became very popular in his consistent fight with the PDP spokesperson, Oliseh Metu.

During the President Muhammaadu Buhari’s certificate controversy at the last presidential campaign, Mohammed pleaded with Nigerians to forgive the party’s flag bearer if he does not know where his certificate is. He said 53 years ago is a long time for someone who left secondary school to still know where his certificate is.

During Nigeria’s fight against the deadly ebola virus disease, the APC through Mohammed also took credit for the defeat of the virus, probably because Lagos and Rivers states were the states that successful defeated the deadly disease.

5. Kayode Fayemi

As a former governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi was on the centre stage during the last elections in the state when he was defeated by his predecessor Ayodele Fayose. He was also the first governor in Nigeria to openly declare his assets and his wife’s worth N750 million.

He was defeated out of office by Fayose with the strategic “stomach infrastructure” for campaign during the 2015 Ekiti gubernatorial election.