Chief David Umahi, the outgoing governor of Ebonyi State, has expressed interest in running for Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.
He maintains that in the interests of equity, justice, and fairness, the Senate President position should be allocated to the South-East geopolitical region of the nation.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at the State Executive Council chambers in the New Government House in Abakaliki, Umahi said he was putting himself forward due to his experience in the public sector and his depth of knowledge in governance and public administration.
In a speech that was met with cheers and applause, the chairman of the South-East Governors Forum insisted that now was the moment to bend the National Assembly’s rules and breach protocol in order to create a new Nigeria and concentrate on how to save the country.
According Umahi “I implore the All Progressives Congress (APC) winners of the various positions to be gracious in victory. For the purpose of equity, justice, and fairness, let me also implore the APC leadership and the president-elect to zone the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the north-west and the President of the Senate to the south-east”.
He further stated that “This will promote inclusivity, guarantee a complete reunion for Nigerians, and ease tense emotions. When God defies convention and breaks regulations, that is a miracle. In order to achieve the greatest National Assembly leadership, I’m pleading with the APC leadership and the leadership of the National Assembly to disregard the norms.”
“If the APC family zones the Senate Presidency to the South-East, I am expressing interest on the ground that I have been in public service for the past 16 years, so you can legitimately say that I understand administration and when you have run a state which is more complicated than any other position other than the Presidency.”
“I am willing to run for office if it is God’s will and what our party’s leadership, the President-elect and Vice President-elect, desire. Although I won’t go against their wishes, I do put myself forth in the condition that the Senate President be zoned for the South-East, said Umahi.
“We boldly abandoned the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to join APC. We have supported the unity of this country in spite of the crisis and attacks, and today we are justified,” said Governor Umahi in defending the South-right East’s to aspiration for the Senate President position.”
In order to build a focused and united nation, he also pleaded with the presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, and the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to drop all legal actions against Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
