The Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has stated that the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu, was influential in his decision to step aside for former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, in the contest for the leadership of the 10th Senate.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee adopted Tinubu’s zoning formula on Monday, with Akpabio favored for the Senate’s top job.
Despite the ostensible consensus, some party members rejected the former Akwa Ibom State governor’s nomination, insisting on the inclusion of other geopolitical zones.
But, speaking at the newly built Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Onueke, Umahi admitted that he had to accept Tinubu’s proposal for stronger regional unity.
“The leader of the party who is the president-elect called me and I feel it is an honour to have called me and I consulted with him while he was in Paris and he said we were going to talk about it,” he said while speaking to newsmen on Monday.
“So, when he came back he called me and we had a meeting and he said please I Have committed myself and it is his right to do that, this is the president-elect, 29th May, he is going to be the president of the country so if he had made promises of course when you are running for such office you must make promises So I won’t be a clog in the wheel of his progress, so I had to accept.”
The Ebonyi State governor, on the other hand, was optimistic that people who remained loyal to Tinubu’s administration would finally reap the benefits.
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“So, I also accepted for the interest of the South-East. Let it not look as if we are in opposition, we just oppose everything. Politics is all about dialogue, it is about give and takes and if we surrendered now or I said No, what will have happened?
“So, I had to in the interest of the South East, so since we didn’t get that one I am sure by God’s special grace the efforts some of us made in marketing APC in the South East, we are going to get some other things that are tangible.”
