Few hours after he left the Kuje prison, former Governor of Anambra State and immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, on Thursday stormed the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caucus meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Fresh from his release on bail, a visibly upbeat Chris Ngige arrived at the State House caucus meeting on Thursday.
His appearance comes just a week after he was remanded in Kuje prison on charges brought against him by the EFCC.
Persecondnews gathered that although Ngige had arrived after President Tinubu—prompting a brief standoff with security—the former minister was eventually cleared to enter and participate in the high-level meeting.
Ngige is facing an eight-count charge bordering on abuse of office by allegedly using his position to confer unfair advantages on companies linked to his associates, cronies, and relatives.
Others are: Contract splitting – the EFCC alleged that Ngige split contracts to evade competitive bidding, awarding inflated contracts worth N2,261,722,535.84 to companies connected to him.
Corrupt gratification: Ngige is accused of receiving bribes, including N38.65 million, N55 million, and N26.13 million, from companies that secured contracts with the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) during his tenure as supervising minister.
Specific charges filed against Ngige are:
Count 1: Awarding seven NSITF contracts worth N366,470,920.68 to Cezimo Nigeria Limited.
Count 3: Awarding eight contracts worth N362,043,163.16 to Jeff & Xris Limited.
Count 4: Awarding four contracts worth N668,138,141 to Olde English Consolidated Limited.
Count 5: Awarding four contracts worth N161,604,625 to Shale Atlantic Intercontinental Services Limited.
Ngige has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
His bail application was granted with conditions, including producing a surety who should be a director in the federal civil service with landed property in the FCT.
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