Umahi's Search For Criminal Asylum In Apc And Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.

It is no longer news that the governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi has joined the All Progressive Congress, APC. What remained within the realm of conjecture was the real reason for Umahi's political adventure into the APC. This was so because Umahi's submission that he joined the APC in protest for "injustices" of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, against the Southeast region has been dwarfed by the galaxy of giant opportunities and patronages given by the PDP to the Southeast. These ranged from assignments to choice ministerial portfolios through zoning of chairmanship of the Nigerian Legislature, vice-presidential ticket to appointments as heads of sensitive security organs of the federal government and execution of significant projects for Ndigbo! The stingy and miserable disposition of APC to the Southeast geopolitical zone which excluded Ndigbo from choice ministerial portfolios, headship of all national security apparatchiks/organs of government and from developmental programmes further bared the mischief in Umahi's allegation against the PDP and fed people's disdain for what is regarded as Umahi's political misadventure into APC!

A careful review of circumstances surrounding Umahi's defection into APC has given rise to an impervious concensus between Umahi's overcrowded constituency of adversaries and diminishing support base that Umahi lied maliciously against PDP; and that the premises for Umahi's defection into APC were bereft of altruism and the interest of Ndigbo. As at December, 2019, Engr. David Umahi was satisfied being a political hatchet-jobber. Priding himself in infamy, Engr. Umahi introduced himself to a gathering of Ebonyi people in his Uburu palatial home as a double-agent. In his words: "If you go to APC, I am also an APC member. If you go to PDP, I am a PDP member ... I am the only one that can do anti-party ... I am 100% APC and 100% PDP"!

However, all those things changed on May, 2020 when Engr. David Umahi, a resident of the proverbial glass house, threw stones at the former Secretary to the State Government of Ebonyi State, Prof. Ben Odoh. Reacting to the professor of Geophysics' admonition and demand for apology to two Ebonyi journalists against whom Umahi had slammed a frivolous life ban from public utilities located in Ebonyi State, enraged Umahi accused Prof. Odoh of misappropriating the CBN N2 billion Agricultural loan fund meant for Ebonyi farmers in the 2016 farming season. Prof. Odoh had served as co-chairman of Ebonyi State Executive Council Committee on the Agricultural loan fund. Gov. David Umahi in his trademark witch-hunt for Prof. Odoh went ahead to establish a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate the management of the funds. For the erudite professor and SSG emeritus, that attempt by Umahi to taint his image was the red line which Umahi had crossed! In an unprecedented reaction, Prof. Odoh bared the limited activities of Ebonyi State EXCO Committee on the N2 billion Agricultural loan and how over-bearing Engr. David Umahi took the sum of N326 million from the loan fund on the pretext that he was "buying tractors for Ebonyi farmers" and how Umahi retarded the disbursement of the loan funds to farmers until Prof. Odoh's resignation from Umahi's administration on 2nd April, 2018 leaving a balance of N1.402 Billion of the loan fund which Umahi's administration could not account for. The erudite professor further revealed that apart from the 2016 funds under review, other funds amounting to N6 Billion came from CBN for Ebonyi farmers in 2017 and 2018 but were lodged in banks for private benefits by Umahi. To cap it up, Prof. Odoh wrote to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, inviting the anti-graft agency to fully investigate all the members of Ebonyi State EXCO Committee on the CBN N2 Billion Agricultural Loan fund including himself. The young professor went ahead to secure a court order compelling EFCC to act accordingly; and restraining Umahi's biased judicial panel from embarking on its mandate of witch-hunt!

Prof. Odoh's bold correspondences to EFCC and Umahi triggered floodgates of revelations of the sleaze and high-profile corruptions which characterized Umahi's Divine Mandate administration in Ebonyi State. Another Ebonyian equally exposed the corruption in Umahi's administration and the competitive looting of Ebonyi treasury by Umahi, his family members and senior government officials as well as the unconscionable drama in the banking hall of Abakaliki main branch of UBA when Umahi's sister in-law who doubled as Ebonyi State Accountant-General was intercepted by Umahi's brother from taking away in four Ghana-Must-Go bags the sum of N120 million which the female thief had unlawfully withdrawn from Ebonyi State Government UBA bank account. The unedited video recording of the bank hall struggle for the bags of money awaits security perusal. Of course, Governor David Umahi could not take any disciplinary action against the corrupt former Accountant-General because the woman threatened to expose what she termed "premium looting" of Ebonyi treasury by Umahi and his family members. Faced with that threat, Umahi had no choice other than to reward the roguish woman by appointing her as his Chief of Staff.

At that point, the aggrieved bureaucracy of Ebonyi State whom Umahi had starved of living wages, promotions, retirement benefits, gratuities and pensions since 2015 began to avenge themselves on Umahi by leaking classified documents that proved humongous thefts of Ebonyi funds and sundry abuses of offices by Umahi and his brothers; as well as desperate efforts of the governor to halt the leakages and cover up his corruption. Overwhelmed by the avalanche of factual updates on his futile attempts to cover up, Governor Umahi cried to the world that he had "moles" in his government. Under that suffocating situation, Umahi appointed his younger brother, Orlando, as Ebonyi State Commissioner for Finance; and made futile efforts to vacate the court order compelling EFCC to honour Prof. Odoh's invitation to investigate the handling of the N2 Billion Agricultural Loan fund meant for Ebonyi farmers. Frustrated on all fronts, Umahi made up his mind to seek extra-judicial protection from liability over the crimes he and his family members committed against Ebonyi people by courting the friendship of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; and joining the All Progressive Congress, APC. Characteristic of the ruling APC which fight against corruption in Nigeria appears to be limited to non-members, no attempt has been made by the EFCC to investigate the many reports of humongous corruption against Governor David Umahi, his brothers and senior officials of Umahi's corrupt administration. This uneasy condonation of Umahi's corruption by the anti-graft agency for the mere fact that Umahi joined APC seems to give credence to the statement of the former National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomole, that "Once you join APC, your sins (corruption cases) are forgiven"! Earlier on, Umahi's frenzy for criminal asylum made him enlist into the controversial Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore who offered to protect Umahi and his government from criminal investigation on the condition that Umahi establishes Ruga settlements for them in Ebonyi State. Umahi fulfilled this condition in September, 2020 by ordering chairmen of the 13 council areas in Ebonyi State to map out land for a minimum of 1000 cow-capacity ranch in their respective council areas. The land for the ranches were mapped out and inspected by the cattle breeding group before Umahi was cleared for defection into APC.

It is instructive that not a few Ebonyians and Nigerians at large understand that it is the search for asylum from liabilities for corruption that took the embattled governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, into APC. This further explains why the cream of Ebonyi polity and their supporters have ignored asylum-seeking Umahi and his hysteric rants from his lonely political orphanage. However, Ebonyi people, the rest of Nigeria and the International Community are watching and waiting to see what the Nigerian government will do with the reports of heavy corruption against asylum-seeking David Umahi.