Umahi Denies plans to decamp to APC

Ebonyi Inaugurates National ID Card Committee 

Amidst speculations that Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi would dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), the state government says nothing could be farther from the truth.

Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Senator Emmanuel Onwe, said, “There have been speculations as to whether the Governor of Ebonyi State is moving to the APC or whether he is remaining in PDP, and who is going with him and who is not going with him. I want to address this matter hopefully once and for all, for all Nigerians to understand that Governor Umahi is one of the centre pillars of the PDP. And I say that with a very deep conviction from my soul.

“This is a party on whose platform he has been the state chairman for four years; a party on whose platform he was the deputy governor for four years and now, governor hopefully for eight years. And anyone speculating about either his commitment or his strength, or his role within the party, or any doubt at all about whether he is remaining or decamping, is just dreaming,” Onwe said.

Meanwhile, the state government has inaugurated a seven-man committee on sensitisation and monitoring of the enrollment/registration of Ebonyi indigenes and residents into the database of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The Kenneth Uhuo-led committee has a mandate to assist and collaborate with the NIMC to ensure that every resident of the state is registered.

Principal Secretary to the Governor, Clement Nweke, while inaugurating the committee in Abakaliki, explained that the committee became necessary following recent revelation by the NIMC that only five per cent of the state’s residents had registered since 2012, when the exercise commenced.

Nweke added that going by the percentage given by the commission, Ebonyi has so far the least number of registrants in the federation, and displaying the greatest level of apathy.

He attributed the apathy to lack of sensitisation and collaboration between the NIMC and government.Nweke charged the committee to ensure effective senstisation and monitoring of registration across the 13 local councils. He also directed that council areas where the NIMC has no office should put one in place.