Senator Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, says Nigeria would have been in turmoil without the leadership style of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“We thank God. I am part of this government. I know that if we don’t have the kind of leader that we have, who is strong like President Muhammadu Buhari, the experience of Nigeria would have been like that of Venezuela,” Mr Ngige said on Wednesday.

According to a press statement by Charles Akpan, spokesman for the labour ministry, Mr Ngige said this after his induction as a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Governance (INSLEC) in Abuja.

INSLEC is a leading global professional body of both present and aspiring leaders, entrepreneurs and people in corporate governance.

Mr Ngige said that the citizens of Nigeria would have spilled into the Cameroons, Niger and other places as refugees if Mr Buhari had not insisted on agriculture.

“We made agriculture the first signature programme of the administration and provided food security so that we can eat whatever we grow here.”

The minister noted that Nigeria had stopped the importation of rice, sorghum, millet, tomatoes and other things hitherto imported, all of which were dependent on the scarce foreign exchange.

According to him, the country’s GDP grew by 5.01 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021, the highest in the last seven years, marking three consecutive quarters of growth, following the negative growths recorded in the second and third quarters of 2020.

“Services provided the lead, followed by agriculture, even though it had a dip and then, followed by Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

“So, we have to be grateful to the government and our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, for standing firm that we will not import food anymore here,” he claimed.

Mr Ngige, however, dedicated the fellowship to ordinary Nigerians. He commended the institute and chairman of the governing board for the fellowship and pledged to be a good member.

Earlier, Professor Gabriel Emecheta,  President/Chairman of the council said the  decision to elect Ngige as a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the INSLEC spoke volumes about his pristine and differentiated worth as a leader, mentor and bridge builder.

Professor Ayandiji Aina, the Chairman, Planning and Resource Committee extolled Ngige’s creativity, confidence, decisiveness, humility and trustworthiness, describing him as a conflict manager of great distinction.

The Chairman, Business and Development Committee of INSLEC, O’tega Emerhor, while expressing gratitude to Ngige for accepting to be a member, praised him for imbibing wholeheartedly the spirit of the institute.

“We have been following your antecedents and what you are doing in the ministry and what you did as Governor in Anambra State.

”We appreciate your joining the institute and admit that with your brand name, the institute will make tremendous progress,” he said. (NAN)