Francis Nwaze, Press Assistant to the Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahihas refuted rumors that the governor has abandoned his presidential ambition by 2023.
Umahi had declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2023 on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform in January this year.
He made his intention public shortly after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.
His statement came just a day after a former Lagos state governor, Bola Tinubu, revealed his plan to run for office on the CPA ticket.
Umahi, in an interview with House correspondents, said he had told the president about his ambition to compete for the seat if the party zones the ticket to the southern region.
On Tuesday, reports in local media claimed that the governor had withdrawn from the 2023 presidential race and instead declared his intention to run for the Ebonyi South senatorial seat in the upcoming general election.
But, when contacted, Mr. Nwaze, the governor and media aide to the government, told PREMIUM TIMES that the governor never dropped out of the presidential race.
The governor’s spokesman described the report as “propaganda” sponsored by Umahi’s political enemies.
“Governor Umahi is very much in the (presidential) race. (The report) is mere propaganda and is being sponsored,” Nwaze told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday night.
The spokesperson expressed confidence that Umahi would emerge victorious from the APC primaries to become the party’s standard-bearer in the 2023 presidential election.
Umahi’s legal battles
Umahi, in addition to the latest rumor of abandoning his presidential ambition, has been in a legal battle to remain in power as governor following a court ruling that removed his administration.
The Abuja Federal High Court last month sacked Mr. Umahi, Deputy Governor Kelechi Igwe, along with 16 state lawmakers for their defection from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, ruled that by defecting from the party in which they were sponsored and elected, they had resigned or were considered to have resigned from their position.
However, in a different ruling, the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, earlier this month overturned a lawsuit seeking the removal of the governor and his deputy from office. were
The lawsuit was initiated by the APC candidate in the 2019 gubernatorial election, Sonni Ogbuoji, and his deputy, Justin Mbam, who had challenged the defection of the governed from the PDP to the APC.