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Minister of Works, David Umahi, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not regain political control of Ebonyi State, saying he was responsible for ending the party’s dominance in the state.
Umahi, who spoke during an inspection of the Cross River-Ebonyi-Benue-Abuja Trans-Saharan Highway, also said he had no involvement in the governorship ambition of the PDP candidate, Ifeanyi Odii, and would not support any political move capable of undermining Governor Francis Nwifuru’s re-election bid.
“I killed PDP when I left PDP. Whether they are alive again, I don’t know. And if they are alive, we have to unalive them because PDP did not treat the people of South-east well,” Umahi said.
The former Ebonyi governor, who defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2020, added: “We supported the PDP. We voted for presidents in the PDP. When it was our time for them to, you know, honour us with presidential ticket, they did not honour us. We have hope in APC.”
Umahi also spoke about the emergence of his son, Osborn Umahi, as chairman of Ohaozara Local Government Area, saying Governor Nwifuru’s role in the process showed that he valued their relationship and appreciated their political history.
“But when people call me out, oh, I’ve made my son local government, that’s not true. The governor is alive. And that single deed of the governor, it touched me so much because it shows that he feels good for me and he appreciates the past, the present, and tomorrow,” he said.
The minister said he had warned his son to be transparent in office and avoid signing any document that had not been authorised by the governor or the state House of Assembly.
“I’ve told him (Osborn) that anything that is not signed by the governor or the House of Assembly, don’t put your signature there. Because the governor is insisting that local government funds should be used to develop local government. So nobody should come through the back and say, sign,” Umahi said.
He further urged Osborn to distribute development fairly across Ohaozara’s 11 council wards, rather than concentrating projects in his home community.
“It has to be equitably distributed among the 11 council wards of the local government. Because when you are a leader and you want to just develop your place, God will resist you. And he will not do it,” he said.
Umahi said Osborn had also promised not to collect salary or allowances, adding that he expected his son to work closely with Nwifuru and make the governor proud.
“So I have very high expectations with the governor, who is his father. And he is the one that nominated him. I never nominated him,” Umahi said, explaining that he had initially wanted Osborn to remain in his employment with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The minister’s comments come as political parties and aspirants position themselves ahead of the 2027 elections, with the future control of Ebonyi emerging as part of the wider political contest in the South-east.
