Tag: David Umahi

  • Umahi Assures Nigerians Of Lasting Solutions To Fed. Roads Across States

    Umahi Assures Nigerians Of Lasting Solutions To Fed. Roads Across States

    From Noah Ocheni, Lokoja

    The Minister of Works, David Nweze Umahi on Tuesday in Lokoja assured Nigerians that a permanent solution will be applied to put all federal roads in good condition to ameliorate the suffering faced by citizens during raining season.

    Umahi gave the assurance on Tuesday evening in Lokoja when in company of the Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello inspect Abuja – Koton-Karfe – Lokoja road , Lokoja – Okene road and Ganaja – Ajaokuta roads that had become a death trap to motorists since the 2022 flood disaster.

    The Minister who assured that the Ganaja – Ajaokuta road will be redesign and build on the existing contract to ensure the road is giving a permanent face lift, also promised that a retaining wall will be constructed on the road to permanently prevent flood disaster from destroying the road during rainy season.

    According to him, flyover will be constructed on the section of the federal road at Koton-Karfe destroyed by flood, assuring that within two weeks the redesign of the roads will be completed and rehabilitation of the roads will commence immediately to fulfil the aspiration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in providing quality roads for Nigerians.

    “I have seen the massive work the Kogi State Government under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello has done on very lengthy section of the federal roads in the state. Mr president is aware of every part of the country that is facing road challenges.

    “I am assuring you that Nigerians that Mr President came to solve our problems and that was why he directed that I should be on the field to see things for myself with a view to find permanent solutions to the bad condition of our roads especially during this rainy season” he said.

    He commended Governor Yahaya Bello for his effort in rehabilitation and construction of federal roads in the state.

    In his remarks, Governor Yahaya Bello stated that Kogi State served as a gateway for vehicles moving from the south to the northern parts of the country, expressing concern that since the flooding of 2022 the Ganaja – Ajaokuta road has remained a difficult terrain for trucks and cars coming from the south south and south east to pass to the northern parts of the country.

    He stated that the Ganaja – Ajaokuta road does not require just a palliative, noting that the Kogi state government in the past intervene to make the road passable but to no avail, appealing to the federal government to apply a permanent solution on the road to end perennial suffering of motorists during rainy seasons.

    Governor Bello thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritizing Kogi State among other states to be intervene in road rehabilitation and construction.

    The Ganaja -Ajaokuta road lead to south east and south south parts of the country making the influx of vehicles on the very high.

  • “Minister David Umahi Announces Upcoming Inspection of Federal Roads”

    “Minister David Umahi Announces Upcoming Inspection of Federal Roads”

    By Daniel Edu

    Minister of Works, David Umahi, has revealed plans to initiate comprehensive inspections and evaluations of all federal roads within a span of two weeks. Speaking during a press conference at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja on Monday, Umahi emphasized his commitment to expediting bureaucratic processes and ensuring swift decision-making.

    During the press conference, which followed the swearing-in ceremony of 45 ministers, Umahi outlined his approach to effective governance. He pledged that no file would be left unattended for more than two hours without valid explanations. He stressed that he prefers a field-oriented role over an office-centric one and intends to actively engage in the assessment of road projects.

    Umahi stated, “I am a field person. God willing, I will be inspecting the Lokojo-Benin Road and Lokoja-Abuja Road. After this week, within two weeks, I will initiate road inspections and only settle down once I have personally assessed ongoing projects and the new ones we plan to undertake. Our goal is to tour the six geopolitical zones to witness the conditions firsthand.”

    The minister also highlighted the importance of his hands-on approach and expressed his belief that his background aligns more with practical fieldwork. He emphasized that the ministry’s team of experts will embark on comprehensive tours across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to assess road infrastructure conditions. These evaluations will aid in devising strategies to improve the nation’s road network and ultimately enhance the lives of Nigerians.

  • Court of Appeal Reverses Judgement Sacking Governor of Ebonyi, David Umahi

    Court of Appeal Reverses Judgement Sacking Governor of Ebonyi, David Umahi

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reversed the March 8 judgment of the Abuja Federal High Court, sacking Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi and his deputy, Eric Kelechi Igwe, for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    In a judgement on Friday, a three-member panel of the appellate court lead by Justice Haruna Tsanammi, held that the 1999 Constitution as amended, did not provide any punishment for a governor or deputy governor who defected from the party on which platform they got to office.

    The appellate court further held that the only option opened to a political party, aggrieved by the defection of a governor or deputy governor, is to explore the impeachment option provided in the Constitution.

    The court aligned with an earlier decision on the same issue given by the Enugu division of the court.

    Justice Ekwo of the Abuja Federal High court Abuja had on March 8, 2022, ordered the Ebonyi state Governor Dave Umahi and his deputy, Eric Igwe, to vacate their sits as the sitting governor and deputy on grounds that the PDP won the election on March 2019 and not its candidate.

    Citing section 221 of the constitution, Justice Inyang Ekwo declared their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, as illegal, and unconstitutional.

  • 2023: Lawan, Akpabio, Umahi Missing As INEC Releases List Of Senatorial Candidates

    2023: Lawan, Akpabio, Umahi Missing As INEC Releases List Of Senatorial Candidates

    The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the list and particulars of candidates vying for various positions at the federal level in the 2023 general elections.

    Conspicuously missing were the names of Senate President Ahmad Lawan, former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, and Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi.

    The trio had contested the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress but may have been hoping to reclaim the APC senatorial seats after failing to win the top seat.

    Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, an INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, said the commission is not obligated to publish the name of candidates that did not emerge from valid party primaries.

    “If a political party submits to the Independent National Electoral Commission the name of a candidate that did not emerge from party primaries or did not emerge from valid party primaries, the commission is not obligated to publish the name of such a candidate,” he said.

    However, Mr Okoye noted that INEC has not published the final list of validly nominated candidates.

    “The final list of validly nominated candidates will be published by the Independent National Electoral Commission on the 20th day of September, 2022. And that is for presidential and national assembly candidates.

    “What the Commission has published, as of today, complies with Section 29(3) of the electoral act which says that the moment political parties comply with the provision of Section 29 (1) of the electoral act in terms of the submission of its validly nominated candidates, that the Commission shall publish the personal particulars of such candidates in the constituencies where the candidates intend to contest election.

    “In other words, for instance for a senatorial candidate, if a senatorial district covers four local governments, we will publish the personal particulars of such a candidate in the four local governments.

    “So that is exactly what we have done. And we published the personal particulrs of candidates that emerged from valid party primaries. And that’s what the law says we should do.

    “So, if the name of any candidate was not published, or if the personal particulars of any candidate was not published today, the implication is that such a candidate did not emerge from valid party primaries.”

  • Why We Are Yet To Take Action On Umahi’s Sack – INEC

    Why We Are Yet To Take Action On Umahi’s Sack – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why it has yet to take any action on the court judgment which ordered the sack of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, and his deputy, Eric Igwe.

    In a statement on Thursday, Mr Festus Okoye said the electoral umpire does not want to rush to make a decision amid the multiple litigations that have emerged.

    Okoye, who serves as INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, stated that the decision would affect the order sacking 16 members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.

    “It will be recalled that the commission met on Thursday 17th March 2022 on the matter, decided to defer its deliberation on the Ebonyi cases, and stepped down the listed Memorandum to enable its Legal Services and Clearance Committee to study the new processes served on it in the light of the previously served ones and advise the commission comprehensively.

    “Since then, the commission has been served yet more court processes on the same matter, bringing the total to 12,” he said.

    “The commission deliberated extensively on these cases and decided to further suspend action on the defection of the Governor and Deputy-Governor of Ebonyi State and 16 members of the State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the light of the conflicting judgements and orders served on it from courts of coordinate jurisdiction.

    “The commission also considers it prudent to stay action on the conflicting judgements and orders being aware of the pendency of appeals and motions for stay of execution of some of the judgements before various divisions of the Court of Appeal.

    A Federal High Court in Abuja had sacked Umahi and Igwe as governor and deputy governor of Ebonyi State respectively, on the request of the PDP after both men defected to the APC in November 2020.

    The court, while relying on Section 221 of the Constitution, ordered the PDP to immediately send names of replacements to INEC and ordered the governor and his deputy to vacate their offices.

    But in a motion on notice dated March 9, Umahi and Igwe prayed the court for an order staying the execution of its orders made the previous day.

    They had also asked the court to stay the execution of its order directing INEC to hold a governorship election, in accordance with Section 177(C) of the 1999 Constitution.

    Both men later withdrew the suit and approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to reverse the March 8 decision of the court which removed them from office.

  • Court Order: Nobody Can Remove Me As Ebonyi Governor, says Umahi

    Court Order: Nobody Can Remove Me As Ebonyi Governor, says Umahi

    David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi, says the court ruling directing his removal from office is “null and void”.

    On Tuesday, a federal high court sitting in Abuja ordered the removal of Umahi and his deputy, Eric Igwe, over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Describing the judgement as a “sham”, Umahi accused Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, of doing a “hatchet job”.

    “Nobody can remove me as the governor of the state as we know where the judgement came from,” NAN quoted him as saying.

    “Justice Ekwo has more than 10 cases against the state government and we will see where this leads him.

    “We have petitioned Ekwo before the National Judicial Council (NJC) as his continued stay on the bench is a disaster for the country. People should not panic as I, the governor, am not distracted at all.

    “The constitution stipulates that the only way a governor can be removed from office is through death, resignation or impeachment by the state house of assembly.

    “There is no constitutional provision that empowers a hatchet man to turn the constitution or law of the land on its head.

    “The supreme court’s recent judgement on Zamfara, among others, attests to this fact as I remain the governor of the state.”

  • Court Fires David Umahi as Governor of Ebonyi, Over Defection to APC

    Court Fires David Umahi as Governor of Ebonyi, Over Defection to APC

    The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, sacked Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Deputy, Dr Eric Kelechi Igwe, following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.

    The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the total number of 393, 042 votes governor Umahi secured during the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Ebonyi state, belonged to the PDP and same could not be legally transferred to the APC.

    According to the court, having defected to the APC, both Umahi and his deputy, not only jettisoned the PDP, but also the votes that belonged to it.

    It held that going by the outcome of the governorship election, the office of the governor and deputy governor in Ebonyi state, “belong to the Plaintiff and no other political party”.

    “There is no constitutional provision that made the ballot transferrable from one party to the other”.

    It held that the PDP is bound to retain the votes and mandate that was given to it by electorates in Ebonyi state, as both governor Umahi and his Deputy could not validly transfer same to APC.

    The court, therefore, ordered both Umahi and Igwe to immediately vacate their positions.

    It ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately receive from the PDP, names of persons to replace Umahi and his Deputy, or in the alternative, conduct a fresh gubernatorial election in Ebonyi state in line with section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

    The court further restrained both Umahi and Igwe from further parading themselves as governor or deputy governor of Ebonyi state.

    The judgement followed a suit the PDP lodged before the court.

    More details soon…

  • DAVID, THE PERIPATETIC POLITICIAN

    DAVID, THE PERIPATETIC POLITICIAN

    By Emmanuel Onwubiko

    It first dropped like a bombshell when a cocktail of political gossips swirled and ballooned about freely for weeks and then dropped as newspaper speculation.

    This tale by moonlight is all about the then choreographed plot by the governor of Ebonyi State Mr. David Umahi to migrate from the People’s Democratic party (PDP), a party synonymous with the South East of Nigeria to the All Progressives Congress(APC) seen in some quarters in the South East of Nigeria as ‘Hausa/Fulani/Moslem’ party. 

    As these rumours were making rounds, the man himself who goes by the name Dave meaning beloved, the diminutive form of David, made strident efforts to deny the story that he plans to move to the All Progressives Congress- a party which produced President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015.

    Recall that  the President MUHAMMADU BUHARI IS THE first Nigerian President who in the history of politics in Nigeria, openly stated that he will distribute national wealth during his tenure in office to zones and States according to the votes he scored during the election from those areas of the Country. This warped and contrived position offends the Nigerian Constitution because for anybody to become a President, he must score both NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE VOTES. 

    Notwithstanding the unambiguous provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, this erstwhile military ruler behaved like he has never read the Constitution because he indeed pull through with his 95 percentage and 5 percenters in the redistribution of wealth to the citizens. The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is notorious for not doing anything significantly towards the infrastructures upgrade and advancement of the South East of Nigeria whereby Dave Umahi paraded about as the Chairman of the South East GOVERNORS forum. 

    So, the man himself at the centre of current political storms generated by his decision to jettison the party platform that gave him tickets twice to become the governor of Ebonyi State is well aware that his ill informed decision to betray the People’s Democratic party will not go down well in a lot of places in the South East of Nigeria so he decided to play the regional mind game by blaming the failure of the People’s Democratic party to zone the 2023 Presidential slot to the South East of Nigeria from where no Executive President has ever emerged since October 1st 1960 that Nigeria got political or flag independence for his ‘POLITICAL CROSSOVER NIGHT’.   

    I think this politician, the son of Joseph Umahi Nwaze and Margaret Umahi of Umunaga, decided to reach for the ethnic card to try to justify his late entry to the All Progressives Congress. Unfortunately, he never thought that he has behaved through to the historicity and etymology of his name popularised by a certain Jewish Shepherd named David who like Dave Umahi later became King who was ordained by God but the Nigerian peripatetic politician Mr. David Umahi was anointed by the People’s Democratic party to assume leadership position, a party that he has betrayed to migrate into the All Progressives Congress, a political party whose leader Muhammadu Buhari openly threatened to deny the South East of Nigeria the rightful entitlements as bona fide citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

    So in his nature as a peripatetic politician, he betrayed the PDP which is a party that made him acting state chairman in 2007 while he was still in political wilderness after crossing over from self-employment. 

    From 2009 to 2011, he served as state chairman of the party. In 2011, PDP made him the deputy governor on a ticket with then Governor Martin Elechi. In 2014, the PDP voted him as its candidate for governorship against the will of the then incumbent who had wanted the then health minister Oyiyebuchi Chukwu, a Professor to succeed him as governor in 2015. By now, the PDP is regretting that error of judgment of granting her flag to Dave Umahi who has now abandoned them for a juicier personal political project in the APC which he unsuccessfully and deceptively attempted to blame on the marginalization of the South East of Nigeria by the PDP. 

    So, Umahi decided to embrace ethnic card to try to demonize the political party that made him a significant politician from the wilderness of  self-employment as head of an engineering firm with nothing to show. 

    We will shortly read that ethnic card he played. 

    But first, let us say that he also decided to behave like a masquerade who would wait for a ‘John the Baptist’ to herald his joining his newly found political family of All Progressive Congress. 

    So he found a willing tool. He went for the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation  and Fiscal Commission, Mr. Elias Mbam, who himself migrated from PDP that made him a Federal Cabinet minister and Chairman of the Revenue Commission before he managed to secure a second term from Muhammadu Buhari after a year that he wandered hopely in the wilderness of political uncertainty. Indeed his reappointment was even announced by the then acting President Yemi Osinbanjo when President Muhammadu Buhari was in a London hospital. 

    So Chief Elias Mbam, who prefers to be called a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi, was procured to publicly urge Gov. Dave Umahi to move ahead with his plans to defect to the APC.

    Mbam, also Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), said this while speaking with newsmen on Monday in Abakaliki.

    He was reacting to a meeting held between the governor and some APC stakeholders on Sunday, in Uburu, in Ohaozara Local Government Area (LGA) of the state preparatory to his defection to the party.

    Mbam said that the decision was a welcome development saying that the state, as well as the South East would benefit from the defection.

    He said that the South East had nothing to show for its numerous support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the return to civil rule in 1999.

    Mbam said that the APC-led Federal Government has shown commitment towards developing infrastructure in the South-East, adding that it was time politicians in the zone moved to APC en-masse.

    “The major stakeholders in our party met with the governor and he told us why he wanted to leave his party for the APC; part of the reasons was the need for South East to be part of the government at the centre.

    “He stressed the need for the zone to collaborate with the North and that if we do that; we will be able to get what we have not been able to get since 1999.

    “Since 1999, PDP has been in control in Ebonyi and other states in South East, yet the party has not found one person worthy of flying its flag and we don’t even have any hope that it would happen soon,” Mbam said.

    He said that the APC led federal government does not accord much recognition to the South East, hence the need for the zone to join the ruling party in order to become relevant to the government.

    He said that Ebonyi needed to join the ruling party in order to be present where major decisions were being taken.

    “We want to lead a campaign where the South East will become more relevant at the centre; Umahi’s move is a commendable decision, it’s good for our state and Igbo people.

    ”The best way to be represented in a meeting is to be present where major decisions are taken and if Ebonyi is not present at the centre, certainly it will affect what we get from there,” he said.

    The RMAFC chairman said that Umahi’s defection to APC would further strengthen the unity of the party in the state and reposition it towards capturing the governors seat in 2023.

    After the carefully choreographed procured outcry laced with numerous half truths and falsehoods,  to join APC by the Elias Mbam – led motley crowd of hired praise singers, the man himself who had earlier denied that he wanted to migrate away from his party to APC, confirmed the much circulated story of his defection.

    And so it came to pass that the Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi said he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) because the PDP had failed the people of the Southeast.

    He said he had no regrets defecting from the party, adding that it was based on his conviction and avowed commitment to the interest of the geo-political zone.

    Umahi explained that he defected because of the injustice against the Southeast by the PDP.

    The governor spoke with reporters in Abakaliki, the state capital, on the controversial defection to the ruling party at the centre.

    He clarified that his defection was not premised on any deal with the APC on the contentious subject matter of presidential zoning to the region in 2023.

    Justifying his defection, Umahi said: “I want to clear the air that I never sought for the PDP presidential ticket and I will not.  So, whoever said that I moved to the APC because they refused to zone the ticket to me is being very mischievous.

    “Even if PDP promises somebody presidential ticket, how does it work when over 8,000 delegates will be voting. And such a promise cannot happen with more than 10 or 20 people. So, people are being very mischievous about that.

    “There are a lot of qualified persons from the Southeast. Some people say I was promised lots of things by the APC. There was no such discussion.  APC never promised me any position. They never promised Southeast any position.

    “However, I offered this movement as a protest to injustice being done to the Southeast by the PDP. Since 1999, the Southeast have supported the PDP. At a time, the five states were all PDP. One of the founding members of the PDP was from Southeast, the late former Vice President Dr Alex Ekwueme.

    “It is absurd that since 1999, going to 2023, the Southeast will never be considered to run for the presidency under the PDP. And this is my position and it will continue to be my position. It had nothing to do with me or my ambition.”

    Umahi said he would continue to agitate for the interest of the Southeast in and out of office.

    He said he has decided to become the sacrificial lamb that would be crucified for the interest of the zone.

    The governor rejected the notion that he was driven by selfish reasons, maintaining that he was protesting the non-zoning of the presidential slot to the Southeast.

    He said the PDP is yet to give reasons why the Southeast is unfit for the Presidency.

    Umahi said the region is at liberty to agitate for the presidential slot, stressing that the crusade is legitimate.

    However, he said despite his defection to the APC, he would not castigate the PDP, which has refused to toe the path of equity and fairness.

    The governor who emphasised that he had not declared interest in the presidency said he may even quit politics in 2023.

    He said his involvement in 2023 would be limited to building support for a presidential candidate of Southeast origin.

    On the reaction by the PDP that it was not yet time to consider zoning, the governor said the party was being economical with the truth.

    Umahi stressed: “In 2015, PDP had zoned the next presidential slot to the North against 2019. Then, the executive statement in Bauchi that the presidential slot is open to all parts of the country and the overtures and scheming to remove most members of the National Working Committee, these are some of the indications that the party has no intention of zoning it to the Southeast”

    “The point is very simple. In 2023, I would have been in PDP between 23 and 24 years and Southeast never really  supported APC the way they are supporting PDP and in that 2023, they  would have been eight years in office. But, it would have been about 23 years going.

    “I believe strongly that the will of God will come to play. But, I believe that APC is amenable to working with Southeast from  all indication. It is amenable and I also believe that until justice and equity is implanted in this  Nigeria, it is difficult for Nigeria to make progress.”

    Onu, who expressed optimism at the enlargement of the APC’s coast in the Southeast, said: “We have one governor now and we are working so that by 2023, we will have five governors. We are very optimistic. We have the people and whatever problem we have, we will resolved them.”

    The minister said APC should also work hard to win the senatorial by-election in Imo North Zone.

    On Umahi’s defection, former Senate President Ken Nnamani said: “it is a work in progress. Our party is a moving train. We are ready to pick anybody that wants to join us. We are expecting not only governors but every body.

    “Our gate is wide open for any person who loves to move in. We are expecting more people. There are many large rooms in our party. For those who are ready to join, the train of APC is already moving.”

    The PDP understandably are not happy. Already Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has accused the Ebonyi State governor of blackmailing the PDP just to fulfil his long known affinity to the APC. 

    I think the governor of Ebonyi State has by this betrayal of the political platform that brought him into relevance shown that he can not be trusted and that he lacks political loyalty and stability and that indeed as a politician, he suffers from credibility deficits. Why enjoy all those privileges from PDP only to betray them with a jaundiced explanation that does not hold water. The decision of Dave Umahi to quit his party does not represent the position of Ndigbo on PDP. He is on a self anointed gambit for political aggrandizement and so should be told to shut up and stop dragging South East of Nigeria along in his political adventure. What he did by moving to APC remains a big time betrayal of trust and is absolutely intolerable since nobody was driving him out of PDP but he simply displayed his true colour as a political saboteur whilst he was in PDP. David Umahi is a peripatetic politician. I apply the word Peripatetic not in the manner that the apostles of Aristotle are called because Aristotle and his followers are highly principled but this one in Nigeria has no qualms abandoning ship and casting needless aspersions on the political party that fed him and gave him power, might and wealth. 

    *EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO is head of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs@www. theingerianinsidernews.com, www.huriwanigeria.com.

  • Umahi replies Wike, accuses Rivers governor of ‘remote-controlling’ PDP

    Umahi replies Wike, accuses Rivers governor of ‘remote-controlling’ PDP

    The Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has described his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, as a dictator whose actions are ‘destroying’ the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Mr Umahi was reacting to a statement credited to Mr Wike who said he (Umahi) left the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) because of his desperation to be president of the country in 2023.

    Mr Umahi spoke on an Arise TV interview programme on Wednesday.

    He said Mr Wike’s “dictatorial tendencies and overbearing influence on the party’s affairs had made other governors to be unhappy with him”.

    He warned Mr Wike to desist from attacking him “as it would be very dangerous if both of them continue attacking each other.”

    Mr Umahi said: “I refused to join issues with Wike because he is my friend. But Wike must know that he is a dictator. Wike must know that one person cannot be called a crowd. Wike must know that a lot of governors in PDP are not very happy with him. He remote controls the party.

    “He (Wike) said that I made my brother the Vice Chairman. I fund the PDP South-east from A to Z. And he has forgotten that he singlehandedly made Secondus the (PDP) Chairman. He has forgotten that he wanted to impose one of his own as minority leader of the house.

    “There is nothing that happens in PDP without his authorisation. He once said that PDP National Working Committee members are beggars and bribe takers. I have asked him that let’s not take on ourselves or else it will be very dangerous.

    “So let’s us face the party, the party does not belong to him. And this is by no means personal and he is demonstrating the dictatorial tendencies in him by taking on me, a fellow governor. And that is very shameful.”