The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said on Thursday he would not resign from the position despite joining the 2023 presidential race.
Several political appointees at state level had resigned from the positions in compliance with the Electoral Act.
The electoral law which was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in February requires political appointees with 2023 ambitions to resign from their jobs at least three months before their parties’ primaries or conventions.
Ngige, who featured in a Channels Television programme, Politics Today, said he would not resign from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) because the 1999 Constitution overrides the Electoral Act.
He added that his Transportation counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, had also come under increasing pressure to resign from the position since he declared his presidential bid.
Ngige declared his intention to vie for the nation’s highest political office on Tuesday.
He said: “The 1999 constitution is the grundnorm, it is the biggest and heaviest of all the laws in Nigeria. And for you to be president, Section 137 has given you areas of qualifications and areas of disqualifications.
“That constitution requires public officers to resign at least one month before the election. Tell me, is a minister not a public servant? Yes. Go to Section 5, you will see me listed there; ministers, commissioners, governors, Vice-President, President, and heads of ministerial bodies.”
