David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State, on Saturday, January 29, 2022, tasked the former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, and the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to stop linking him with their woes, especially as the 2023 general election approaches.
Umahi was reacting to a statement that was credited to the former Vice President Atiku, where he accused the APC Governor of being heartless to have unjustly sealed the Ebonyi PDP secretariat and masterminded the detention of the party’s spokesperson in police custody.
The former Vice President Atiku who was on a consultation visit to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ebonyi State, had through the Chairman of the Technical Committee for the actualization of Atiku Abubakar Presidential ambition, Raymond Dokpesi, tasked Umahi to unseal the party secretariat.
He said, “I remember vividly when I came here on two, three occasions, the first one was when I was contesting for chairman of the party, this governor met me at Abuja after I have visited here to plead with me to step down for the chairmanship race for the overall interest of the party and in the overall interested of the federal government.
“This same man did not have sufficient patience when it came to his own personal ambition of becoming the president, he brutally shut down the PDP secretariat, that’s a heinous act, that is the height of brutality and wickedness” Atiku stressed.
But, Umahi who spoke to journalists through the special assistant on Media and Publicity Mr Francis Nwaze, debunked the allegations.
He said: “Our attention has been drawn to a publication credited to the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar in which he urged Governor David Umahi, to unseal the PDP Secretariat and release detained Spokesman of the Party in the State.
“The People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi State should make efforts to first, find the location of its Secretariat without involving the focused administration of Governor David Umahi, that is if it has a Secretariat as we are not aware of where they have a permanent Secretariat in their name.
“Governor David Umahi left the party in November 2020, he did not leave with even a pin belonging to the Party. And so long as we understand the continued reference to Governor Umahi by the PDP long after his exit, is a sign that the Party misses his astute leadership acumen, we appeal to the Party to please find a soft landing as Governor Umahi has since moved on in his Progressive march to eldorado.
“We are constrained to make further comments on the case of its spokesperson, Nwoba Chika who is now in detention, his case is now pending in a court of competent jurisdiction. His political party have the leeway to prove themselves innocent through the court process instead of tempting the State Government to meddle in contempt of court,” he stated.
