2023: My family conspired against me to vote Peter Obi - Gov Umahi

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State has said his family conspired against him to vote for the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the 25 February presidential election in the state.

Umahi, a member of the ruling

All Progressives Congress (APC), stated this when he appeared as a guest on a television programme.

The governor said he did not give the LP and other political parties an opportunity to win any election in the state because of what he had “put in place” in the state.

“I was very surprised (that) even in my family, there was a conspiracy against me. I did not know that they (my family) voted for Peter Obi, but in the other election, they voted for APC because of what we’ve done in the state,” he said.

Ebonyi State is considered one of the strongholds of Obi in the election because he (Obi) hails from the South-east region.

The LP candidate polled a total of 252, 738 votes to defeat Tinubu of the APC in Ebonyi State. The

APC candidate came second with 42, 402 votes in the state.

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, enjoyed swelling support mainly in the South-east during the exercise.

Speaking further, Umahi expressed surprise that incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, and the APC candidate, Tinubu, now president-elect, lost the presidential election in their states.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won the presidential election in Katsina State, where Buhari, a member of the APC, hails from.

Similarly, Obi of the LP won in Lagos State, where Tinubu served as the governor between 1999 and 2007.

Umahi said that the losses came in the form of a protest against the PDP and the APC as a result of hardship and other challenges in the country.

“I saw the Labour Party vote as a protest against my party (APC) and the PDP.

“It was not a vote for Peter Obi. As such, there is seemingly hardship and challenges in Nigeria,” he said.