Former governor and Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has stated that he has the right to decide his replacement in the National Assembly.
Recall that Umahi resigned from the Senate after being appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu.
However, the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Friday upheld Umahi’s election and dismissed petitions from the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates.
Speaking on Saturday during his visit to his successor, Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi state, as part of his tour of the state to inspect federal roads, Umahi said he had the right to determine his replacement.
Umahi said he would ensure that the party zones the senatorial ticket to Ohaozara Local Government Area and it will not leave there.
He said: “We would ensure that the party zones the ticket to Ohaozara (his Local Government Area), and it will not leave there.
“We would discuss the issue with the governor and, through him, run through the court process pending where the opposition takes us,” he said.
The minister thanked the governor for supporting his moves to make Chief Onyekachi Nwebonyi (APC-Ebonyi Central) replace him as the Senate deputy majority leader.
He said: “I asked if you could facilitate the process. You did, and it is currently working.
“It is not every governor that would want his subject to grow, but I want to assure you of complete comfort.
“President Tinubu does not like division, and be assured that you are not struggling for the party’s leadership with anyone.”
Umahi noted that his decision to decamp to the APC from the PDP has yielded fruits with the projection of the state in mainstream politics.
“That decision nearly took my life, my properties were burnt, and I became the enemy of the entire Igbos.
“The decision fetched all of us our present position, so support the governor to deepen the party in the state and southeast zone,” he said.
He declared that President Tinubu was ordained by God to lead the country, noting that he had maintained that stance since the electioneering period.
Umahi urged the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, and other Igbo stakeholders, to support Tinubu, saying that the president gave the Sout East the foremost ministerial position even when the region didn’t vote well for him.
