Minister of Works David Umahi has said President Bola Tinubu asked him to remain focused on delivering road projects despite public calls for his removal following the death of a female staff member linked to the Federal Ministry of Works.
Naijaonpoint reports that the minister made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Monday.
His comments come weeks after the death of Mary Habila, a ministry staff member who died in June at Umahi’s private residence, an incident that attracted public attention and sparked widespread discussions online.
Following Habila’s death, many social media users questioned the circumstances surrounding the incident, while some demanded that the minister should be removed from office as investigations continued.
Reacting to the criticism, Umahi said attempts were made to use the incident for political purposes.
According to him, instead of acting on calls for his dismissal, President Tinubu encouraged him to continue carrying out his responsibilities by concentrating on road construction projects across the country.
The minister said he would remain committed to his assignment and continue delivering infrastructure projects.
However, he did not speak on the ongoing investigation into Habila’s death or provide any update on the case.
He said: “Power and might don’t belong to social media, it belongs to God.
“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.’”
