Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has explained why a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim; former Ebonyi State Governor, Senator Sam Egwu; and members of the National Assembly from the State didn’t defect with him to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite their joint agreement to do so.
Umahi gave the explanation during an enlarged APC stakeholders meeting at the Banquet Lodge of the Old Government House, Abakaliki.
The governor, who said his government had been patronising those who are fighting him now, tagged Abuja Group, said he would soon publish contracts and other patronages given to them.
Umahi disclosed that in the case of Anyim, he had in the past fought his predecessors.
While urging the former Secretary General of the Federation to discontinue his plans to fight him, he would do anything within his powers to fight them back.
According to the governor, he actually planned his defection to the APC together with Anyim, but the former Senate President backed out of the defection plan because he (Umahi) met with President Muhammadu Buhari without taking him along.
The governor further stated that the plan was for Anyim, Egwu and the National Assembly members to join him in APC two weeks after his defection to the ruling party.
Umahi said he consulted all the National Assembly members and elders of the state about his defection to the APC and they all gave their nods to it and even agreed to defect with him.
He, however, noted that the only grievance of the National members and other leaders was that he outsmarted them by joining APC before them, revealing that they actually wanted to join the party before him.
He said:
They were planning to ambush me, but it is difficult to catch the air.
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Reacting to the allegation making the rounds that Anyim gave him N5 billion to prosecute his governorship election in 2015, Umahi said:
I was a deputy governor, somebody occupying the highest position from the South East (referring to Anyim) went and arranged for a N5 billion loan for me to prosecute the presidential election for his government.
I had to sell many of my property to pay back that money.
Umahi vowed to retaliate the fight if Anyim and his group insisted on fighting him.
He said:
Let me tell you, I’m not afraid of anybody, but I respect everybody.
But I have said that if God sent me, this will be the last fight in this state.
All these people that came together to fight me, they collect contracts, they collect monthly pay, they collect vehicles and when they are asked to bring people that worked for us, they will bring their wives, children and relations.
