Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, on Tuesday, July 17 2018, said despite his close relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari, he “can never” join a party like the president’s All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking during a press briefing in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, Governor Umahi dismissed media reports that he had defected to the APC.
“They said I have decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC). This is laughable and the question is that why are people so much interested in my politics?” the governor queried.
Umahi clarified that although he maintains a personal relationship with President Buhari, he would never join the APC with the kind of leaders the party houses in the state.
He said, “The clarification is that my relationship with Mr President is because Mr President is my boss and the relationship is personal. Mr President or any APC person has never asked me to come over to the APC and they will never ask.
“There is no reason for me to leave my party the PDP of which I was the party chairman, deputy governor and now governor. I have always insisted on character.
“People that jump from one party to the other should examine their characters unless if there is any problem within your party.
“As at today and tomorrow, and till Christ comes there will be no crisis in PDP. So, there is no reason for me to leave the PDP and even if there were crisis in PDP and there is the need for me to leave PDP, I can never leave PDP to the kind of APC in Ebonyi State.
“With the kind of leader (not all of them but most of them) in Ebonyi State that have failed the state woefully. So I can never be on the same political platform with them. This is very key and much a fact for us to know.
“So, I am focused in doing my job, I am focused in governance and I have always insisted that we should leave party politics to our party men and women.
“As soon as you are elected you should focus on your job. I am not yet into politics of re-election and the fever that is gripping from day one is the fever of delivery on the dividends of democracy.
“So they should leave me alone with their dirty party politics because I am focused, I am a PDP member and I have benefited by privileges the platform of PDP has afforded me to be a party chairman, to be a deputy governor and to be a governor,” the governor added.
