Habila: Tinubu Ignored Calls to Sack Me, Asked Me to Build More Roads, Umahi

Nigeria's Minister of Works, David Umahi, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu refused to remove him from office despite public outcry following the death of a nurse, Mary Habila, who was part of his medical team. Umahi stated that the President urged him to continue his work on infrastructure development instead.

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When people took the death of one of my staff and started playing politics with it, they said the president should sack me, but the president surprised all of them and said, ‘Dave, go and build more roads.’

Habila died on June 27 at Umahi's residence in Ebonyi State while serving with his medical team. The incident sparked public concern and calls for an investigation. The Incorporated Trustees of the Southern Kaduna Peoples’ United Associations (SOKAPU) filed a N20 billion lawsuit against Umahi, alleging a breach of duty of care.

Addressing the controversy, Umahi said some individuals pressured the President to sack him. "When people took the death of one of my staff and started playing politics with it, they said the president should sack me, but the president surprised all of them and said, ‘Dave, go and build more roads,’" he recounted.

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I was mourning.

Umahi expressed deep sorrow over Habila's death, calling it a painful experience. He mentioned that he instructed his supporters not to organize birthday celebrations as a mark of respect for the deceased. He also stated that he prayed for divine retribution should he or his family be involved in her death. Following the incident, Umahi requested an autopsy by the Ebonyi State Police Command to determine the cause of death and initially directed that the body not be released to the family until the post-mortem was complete. However, Habila's family rejected this, demanding burial according to their wishes without an autopsy.

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may our own end be worse than hers.