Ebonyi gov accuses deputy of championing impeachment

Governor of Ebonyi State, Martin El­echi, has accused his Deputy and governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Par­ty (PDP) in the state, Dave Umahi, of spearheading im­peachment threats against him.

Also, he stated that he nev­er promised to back Umahi’s governorship ambition.

In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Dr. Onyekachi Eni, the governor said Umahi was “not only one of the pro­ponents of the impeachment drive, but also its champion.”

He described the deputy governor’s alleged action as a betrayal of trust. Governor Elechi also said contrary to Umahi’s claim that he (gov­ernor) ‘fired up’ his gover­norship ambition, he never promised anyone to succeed him. The statement explained that Elechi’s refusal to support Umahi was informed by the fact that having worked close­ly with him (Umahi), he came to the conclusion that his mo­tivations and tendencies were not driven by the impulse to further the frontiers of devel­opment of Ebonyi State.

The statement read in part: “Our attention has been drawn to the avalanche of unsupportable claims by the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi in his press briefing on Saturday, Febru­ary 28, 2015 in Abakaliki. It is regrettable and unfortu­nate that the nation’s political terrain, and that of Ebonyi State, has become so polluted and bastardized to the extent that the values of decency, re­spect for superiors and elders has been thrown overboard.

“It is only in this clime that a deputy governor will not only challenge his principal openly, but also proceed to call him names. While freedom of expression is the right of every citizen under our laws, such freedom does not also confer on anybody the right to stand truth on its head in a desperate bid to deceive the public for the ends of political ambition.

“It speaks volumes about the nation’s political class that while still being part of the government, the deputy governor sought to discredit the government he is suppos­edly serving. Umahi claimed that Governor Elechi fired the gubernatorial ambition in him by promising to hand over to him. The truth is that while they were and still are, many aspirants to the office of Gov­ernor, Elechi never promised anyone, least of all, the deputy governor to succeed him. Ele­chi’s refusal to support Umahi is informed by the fact that having worked closely with the deputy governor, he came to the conclusion that his mo­tivations and tendencies are not driven by the impulse to further the frontiers of de­velopment of Ebonyi State. And if Umahi claims that he was never interested in being governor until Elechi fired his ambition, one wonders why he did not halt his aspiration when the governor expressly declined to support him.

“The truth which is known to everybody in Ebonyi State and beyond is that Umahi’s craving for the governorship is long-standing and almost borders on obsession. Umahi also said he has no hand in the impeachment threats to his principal.

“Such a claim is anything but true in view of the fact that the members of the House of Assembly championing the impeachment are the faction loyal to Umahi. In a recent interview published verbatim in many national dailies in the country, including Daily Sun of January 29, 2015 at page 59, Umahi played legis­lator when he listed a number of fanciful charges against Elechi, which he preposter­ously called impeachable of­fences against his boss.

“In effect, Umahi is not only one of the proponents of the impeachment drive but also its champion.”