Chris Ngige

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Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige (born 8 August 1952) was governor of Anambra State in Nigeria from 29 May 2003 to 17 March 2006. He is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).

A medical doctor by profession, Ngige graduated from the University of Nigeria-Nsukka in 1979. He immediately went into the civil service, serving at the National Assembly and State House clinics at different times. He retired in 1998 as a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Health.

Thereafter, Ngige turned to politics, becoming a founding member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). By 1999, he was Assistant National Secretary and Zonal Secretary of PDP in the South East region of the country.

Elected in 2003 under controversial circumstances, he quickly broke ranks with his self-styled "political godfather" after an unsuccessful attempt on 10 July 2003 to illegally remove him from office through a fabricated letter of resignation which the state assembly accepted.

He became a local hero with the people by focusing on developing infrastructure in a state with virtually none, and paying lengthy backlogs of wages to civil servants. He has been unable to maintain a warm relationship with the President Olusegun Obasanjo mainly because he accused the president of coming to power under the same flawed election as himself. Ngige is very popular among his people and other Nigerians who consider him as a Robin Hood of sorts.

A Nigerian Federal Court of Appeal affirmed the nullification of Ngige's purported 2003 election victory on 15 March 2006. The court declared that Peter Obi, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was the bona fide winner of the election. However, this nullification has not diminished Ngige's popularity. Ngige has accepted the court ruling rather than appeal to the nation's Supreme Court, and publicly wished his successor well.