The former minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, has been invited by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Daily Trust reports that Ngige was questioned over his role in some contracts and jobs racketeering which allegedly happened during his tenure at the ministry.

According to the report, He was at the commission to answer questions concerning the awarding of contracts in Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

While it was gathered that Ngige was invited when he was away in the United States for medical check-ups, sources within the ICPC said the commission wanted him to shed more light on the award and abandonment of multi-million naira electronic NSITF.

Ngige had during his time gotten approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) under former President Muhammadu Buhari for the e-NSITF.

The source said, “Yes, our detectives had interaction with him. We had since invited him in line with our SOP but he told us he was outside the country.

“So, we had to give him some time to finish what he went to do in the US. So, he honoured our invitation yesterday (Wednesday),” the source said.

However, an associate of Ngige who spoke on the matter debunked earlier claims that the former minister was arrested by the ICPC.

Rather he noted that Ngige was invited by the commission which he honoured and has since left the headquarters of the ICPC in Abuja after providing them with the needed information.

Ngige’s associate said, “He wasn’t arrested by anyone; he went on his own, made clarification based on submissions made by staff over ministerial/presidential approval of some issues and he left immediately after that.”