The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has debunked reports that the federal government would expend the sum of N1 billion for the burial of the former vice-president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme.
Ngige in a statement Tuesday described as misleading and needless the controversy over his interview with the press on the commitment of the federal government to Ekwueme’s burial, as he did not attach any figure to what he termed “a deserving national tribute to one of Nigeria’s foremost statesman”.
According to the minister, he only gave a summary of the number of projects the federal government has taken to ensure that a man who easily was Nigeria’s beacon of democracy was given a decent burial.
He said he was preempted by the rhetorics of cynics and detractors who could have easily run to town to claim the federal government has abandoned Ekwueme in death.
Part of the statement read: “For the avoidance of doubt, what he did as a member of the Burial Planning Committee was to give the details of the road rehablitation projects from the Awka end of the state and from Abia and Imo State axis, all leading to Ekwueme’s home town of Oko, as well as the medical services, the mausoleum and others. But at no time did the minister attach a figure of one billion naira!”
Details later…
