Why Ebonyi Central allowed Umahi to become Minister – Ex-commissioner, Okah

By Christiana Ekpa

The chairman of the Ebonyi State Council of Elders, Benjamin Okah, has insisted that it was the turn of the Ebonyi Central senatorial zone to produce a minister in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration but decided to cede the position to former governor David Umahi.

He said that the purpose of ceding Ebonyi Central’s chance to the former governor was because of the firm belief that Umahi wouldn’t disappoint the Southeast region, especially in delivering quality infrastructure for the country.

Okah, a former Commissioner for Public Utilities in Ebonyi State, made this known while speaking with journalists in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.

The Elders Council chairman said there won’t be the issue of the “Abuja Group” again in the state, but rather an increased partnership between Minister of Works Umahi and Governor Francis Nwifuru, to develop Ebonyi to the envy of other states.

According to him: “Ebonyi Central senatorial zone ought to have produced the minister, but former governor, David Umahi, worked very hard during the last general election; that’s why he was given a Grade One minister.”

Okah, who applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the appointment of David Umahi as the first Igbo man to emerge as Minister of Works, called on President Tinubu to give more ministerial appointments to the Southeast geopolitical zone.

He stated that it was unfair that the region got only five ministerial slots while others produced eight to eleven ministers.

“Nigerians will see a great difference in terms of delivering quality infrastructural development, especially roads, under David Umahi as Minister of Works. Igbos have always performed very well in every ministry given to them. We are not happy that only five ministerial positions were given to the Southeast. We believe that President Tinubu will consider Southeast in other major appointments,” he stressed.