Chris Ngige

A former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, was on Wednesday, thoroughly grilled by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) regarding alleged malpractices related to the awarding of contracts at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

Ngige, who served in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet for eight years, oversaw the NSITF through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. The fund has faced multiple corruption allegations over the years.

In January 2023, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged Adebayo Aderibigbe, a former general manager at NSITF, with fraud related to the sum of N60,400,000.

Speaking with TheCable, Demola Bakare, spokesperson for the ICPC, confirmed that Ngige is assisting the commission with its investigation but clarified that the former minister was neither arrested nor detained.

“He was not arrested, he was not detained. He is helping us out with the investigation,” Bakare said.