A Former Governor of Ebonyi State and current Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has come under fire following comments credited to him declaring that “Ebonyi State is no more Obidient” and that the Southeast would not repeat its 2023 “mistake” of supporting Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi.
In a statement signed by Comrade Eze Oko Splendour, the 2023 Labour Party governorship candidate in Ebonyi, Umahi was accused of “threatening and intimidating” opposition forces in the state instead of addressing what he described as “failures of the present administration” led by Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru.
“Ebonyi people are expecting him to commission at least one signature project completed by his godson, Governor Nwifuru, nearly three years in office, but he has not done so because there is none,” Splendour said. “Instead of apologizing for being the brain behind this failure in governance, he is busy issuing threats ahead of 2027.”
On Umahi’s declaration that “Ebonyi is no more Obidient”, the Labour Party chieftain dismissed the claim as false.
“If he could not stop us from winning the state for Peter Obi in 2023 when he was governor, is it now that he is no longer governor that he will stop us? Ebonyi remains fully Obidient, and in 2027 Umahi will be shocked,” Splendour maintained.
He further alleged that Umahi had pleaded with stakeholders in 2023 to allow APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, secure 25% of the votes in Ebonyi.
“We obliged him then, but in 2027 he will not get up to 15% for Tinubu. Our votes are for Peter Obi, not APC,” he declared.
Reacting to Umahi’s statement that opposition candidates should “contest only on social media” if they must challenge Governor Nwifuru, Splendour said the comment was directed at him but vowed that neither Umahi nor anyone else could stop him from running again if endorsed by the people.
“If I could contest against him in 2019 and 2023 when he was governor, is it now he is minister that he will stop me? Nobody can stop me if Ebonyi people endorse me in 2027. Power belongs to the people, not an individual,” he stated.
The LP flagbearer called on Ebonyians to prepare for the 2027 general elections, urging citizens to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), resist intimidation, and protect their votes.
“We have declared 2027 a year of ‘Rig and Die’. Anybody planning to rig in Ebonyi should rethink. Ebonyi belongs to all of us. Nobody should intimidate you,” he said.
Splendour concluded by reaffirming the Labour Party’s commitment to Peter Obi’s political project, insisting that “a new Nigeria is POssible.”
