5th June, 2022
David Umahi, the Governor of Ebonyi, has rubbished reports that he has stepped down his presidential aspiration for Senator Ahmad Lawan, Senate President of Nigeria’s National Assembly.
Umahi made the clarification via a statement released by his campaign organization.
The statement signed by Ebonyi State’s Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Orji Uchenna Orji, described the reports as fake.
The statement read, “The attention of David Umahi Campaign Organisation has been drawn to a piece of circulating fake news propagated in media platforms purporting that the Presidential Hopeful and Governor of Ebonyi State, His Excellency Engr Chief David Nweze Umahi FNSE FNATE (Akubaraoha) has stepped down his Presidential Aspiration for His Excellency, Senator Ahmad Lawan, Senate President of Nigeria’s National Assembly.
“Members of the public are enjoined to disregard the fake news as cheap blackmail and absolute falsehood by desperate politicians who are apprehensive of the acceptable political profile of the Governor of Ebonyi State and Presidential hopeful and whose track records have endeared him to the heart of the APC leadership.
“Umahi never stepped down, but that His Excellency Ahmad Lawan only returned a consultation visit previously accorded to him by Governor Umahi and that both of them pledged to support each other in event of any of them emerging as the presidential candidate of APC.”
However, a statement from Lawan’s media team, signed by Danladi Bako, had claimed Umahi restated his commitment to support Lawan’s quest to emerge as the APC presidential candidate at the primaries scheduled for June 6 to 8.