Despite her recent appointment by President Bola Tinubu as a minister, Bianca Ojukwu is still a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), according to Sly Ezeokenwa, the party’s chairman.
President Bola Tinubu reorganized his government in October, appointing Bianca Ojukwu as one of the new ministers.
The widow of the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was named Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, despite not belonging to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ezeokenwa, whose leadership of APGA was affirmed by the Supreme Court that same day, stated on Wednesday that Bianca Ojukwu had remained with APGA.
Ezeokenwa revealed that he called on the president, stating “I commend him on that appointment, adding that she (Bianca) is a member of APGA, a BoT member of the party till date, and she has not resigned her membership in the party. According to him, she had that appointment as a member of the party.”
According to the APGA chairman, Ojukwu was given permission by the party to accept the ministerial position.
He claimed that the president’s actions were in line with his long-standing support for giving opposition party members a chance to work in Tinubu’s administration.
“The earliest call I made to the president was to ensure that now that you have won the election and the Supreme Court has affirmed your election as the president of Nigeria, it is now time to close ranks because the people that can help you achieve your manifesto are not domiciled within your party; you have technocrats that are in other political parties,” he said.
Ezeokenwa saids even though he is the leader of an opposition party, he still wishes that President Tinubu succeeds for the interest of Nigerians, which is paramount.
The APGA leader maintained that Ojukwu’s appointment as a minister is a plus for the opposition party, which according to him is ready to be part of an inclusive government.
In the judgement declaring Ezeokenwa as the authentic chairman of APGA on Wednesday, the apex court also awarded a N20 million fine against Edozie Njoku for filing a frivolous suit at FCT High Court, Bwari.
