Minister of Works Dave Umahi has declared that he is still a senator despite his appointment to the cabinet by President Bola Tinubu.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Umahi made this known during an interview with Channels TV on Thursday.
He said that he would need to work with the National Assembly to deliver on his responsibilities as minister, and that he is still a senator until the Ebonyi State Election Petition Tribunal rules on a challenge to his election.
The tribunal is yet to rule on a petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Michael Nnachi, and Labour Party (LP), Linus Okorie, who are challenging Umahi’s declaration as the winner of the Ebonyi South Senatorial seat.
The petitioners are asking the tribunal to nullify the election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate because Umahi did not score the majority of valid votes cast in the election.
Umahi said that he is a senator and not a sitting senator because he has exited the National Assembly. He said that the ministerial inauguration by law means he has resigned from the other office, but the position still belongs to APC until the tribunal says otherwise.
