Calls for his dismissal over the death of a female ministry employee at his private residence have been dismissed by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, who stated that President Bola Tinubu has instructed him to maintain focus on delivering infrastructure projects.
The minister’s comments come amidst sustained online interest and calls for greater accountability regarding the demise of Mary Habila, a Federal Ministry of Works staff member whose death in June triggered widespread social media reactions. Relevant authorities have yet to publicly announce the final findings of the official investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
Reacting in a video circulating on X on Monday, Umahi maintained his commitment to his duties and did not comment on the status of the ongoing inquiry. He accused critics of exploiting the tragic incident for political leverage.
“Power and might don’t belong to social media, it belongs to God,” Umahi said.
The minister explained that despite public pressure on the presidency to relieve him of his post, President Tinubu offered a different instruction: “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.’”