Austin Umahi, brother of former governor David Umahi, has not been selected by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State to take his place in the Senate, contrary to rumours.
Following Senator Umahi’s appointment as Minister of Works, the Ebonyi South Senatorial District seat became vacant.
In a news conference on Monday in Abakaliki, the party’s state chairman, Stanley Okoro-Emegha, refuted the story and called it “false.”
As the party will hold a new primary to choose a candidate, Okoro-Emegha stated that Austin or any other person has not been nominated to fill the void.
Because the seat belongs to us, the APC will run a candidate who will keep it.
We are present in the state, so we won’t permit any seats currently held by the party to be taken by the opposition, he declared.
The party’s chairman declared that the APC will hold a reliable primary to choose a candidate who would be supported by both the party and the general public.
“Since the position is elective, the candidate for it should be chosen by an open election rather than through nomination.
The ticket does not belong to anyone, he said, adding that the governor has the freedom to support any candidate as the party’s head.
He said the party was awaiting a declaration of the position as vacant and instructions from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on how to conduct its election.
“People who assert that the state’s governorship will be lost at the tribunal are dreaming because it was elected with a resounding majority.
He remarked, “The governor has started to justify the confidence reposed in him by the people, as they understood his talents before they elected him.
