Works Minister Dave Umahi said Monday that President Bola Tinubu rejected calls for his removal after the death of a staff member at his residence and instead urged him to continue building roads.
Umahi, speaking in a public address circulating on social media, said critics tried to turn the incident into a political weapon. “They said the President should sack me. Why should he sack me? For doing what? Because somebody working with me died, then I must be sacked?” he asked.
“But the President surprised all of them. He told me, ‘Dave, go and build more roads,'” Umahi added.
The minister referred to the death of a “young lady” he described as one of his best workers, widely identified as Mary Habila, a Community Health Extension Worker who died on June 27 at Umahi’s home in Uburu, Ebonyi State. The circumstances of her death have drawn sustained public scrutiny.
Umahi maintained that power belongs to God, not social media, and said the loss of the staff member, along with that of an uncle, led him to cancel birthday celebrations. He prayed that anyone involved in the death would face a worse fate, while those seeking political gain from it would also face consequences if their claims proved false.
Habila’s body was later transferred to the National Hospital in Abuja after the Nigeria Police Force took over the investigation from Ebonyi State authorities. A forensic autopsy was planned amid earlier disputes over her professional designation and the handling of the case.
