By Charles Igbo
Outgoing Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Dave Umahi, has acknowledged billionaire business man, Chief Arthur Eze, as the person who made him the Governor of the State. Umahi said he became Governor just by being taken to President Goodluck Jonathan by Eze in Eze’s car.
Umahi revealed this at the commissioning of a flyover at Abaomege Junction, Onicha Local Government Area and Abaomege- Ukwu-Ngwulangwu-Okposi Road, Ebonyi State, both of which he named after Eze.
At the commissioning if the projects performed by Eze, Umahi told the people: “He (Arthur Eze) took me in his vehicle to the Villa to meet President Goodluck Jonathan, and he said this is the man that will be the Governor of Ebonyi State, and Mr President ticked my name.”
Umahi, also, asked Eze to be “the face” of the South-east in the Tinubu Administration so that the Igbo will not be neglected.
Umahi: “I am using this opportunity to beg you to be the face of Ndigbo in Tinubu’s Administration. If you put yourself forward, the Igbo man will not be neglected.
“You have raised a lot of people. I have never seen any man that has outperformed you in this regard.
“History is made today. I think it should be three years back when we invited Arthur Eze to lay the foundation of this flyover. For so many reasons, he was very key to our struggle
“He took me in his vehicle to the Villa to meet President Goodluck Jonathan and he said this is the man that will be Governor of Ebonyi State, and Mr President ticked my name.
“A man that has made so many politicians, he gives money in millions of Dollars, and he doesn’t ask you back.”
Earlier, Eze had assured Umahi that he (Umahi), will be the President of Nigeria, one day.
This is not the first time Eze would tell Umahi he would be President. In 2019, Eze had said to Umahi, before Buhari, that Buhari would hand over to Umahi as his successor.
Apparently, Umahi believed Eze, which, perhaps, pushed the Governor to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, a Party under which he won a second term in office as Governor, for the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Instructively, he lost his deposit when he vied to succeed Buhari. He failed at the Primaries which was won by the now President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Recently, he had another failure. He put himself up for the position of the Senate President. Tinubu asked him to stand down for the immediate past Minister for Niger Delta and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio. He obeyed.
