PDP’s Umahi Wants Buhari To Seek Re-Election

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, wants President Muhammadu Buhari to seek re-election in 2019.

Mr Umahi, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, told State House Correspondents after meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa on Thursday that it is normal for an elected official to seek re-election.

“Since Mr President is doing his first term and I am doing my first term, it’s my wish to re-contest. So, I will as well wish Mr President the same – to re-contest,” he said.

READ ALSO: Okorocha Says No Automatic Ticket For Buhari

This comes one week after Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State said no automatic ticket for any candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the general elections in 2019.

Okorocha, who was being specific about the presidential election, had said President Buhari would have to go through the procedure provided by the Constitution to emerge the party’s candidate if he decides to recontest.

“We won’t allow imposition of candidates, it must be democratically done. If President Buhari will lead the ship in 2019, it must be democratically done – and I say democratically, transparently,” the governor had said after he met with the President on November 2.

Amid speculations whether President Buhari would contest in 2019, Governor Umahi said there was nothing wrong if the President recontests in the coming general elections.

He said, “Any first-term governor would want to go for a second tenure and if that’s what you wish yourself, you should be honest enough to wish another person the same.”

Away from politics, the governor briefed reporters on the progress made so far by his administration in Ebonyi State since he assumed office in 2015, hinting that the President would soon visit the state.

“We have quite a lot of projects that we have executed within these past two and half years. We have three numbers of twin flyovers that were built across the African Tran-Sahara Road – running from Enugu to Cameroon, passing through Ebonyi State,” he said.

“So, we had to build three flyovers to decongest traffic on that. Each of the twin flyover bridge is 700-metre length; we’ve completed two totally and the third one is about 80% done. So, Mr President will commission the two,” Umahi added.