Former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, has accused Ebonyi state Governor, Dave Umahi of planning to assassinate him and other prominent leaders in the state.
Umahi recently defected to All Progressives Congress (APC), but the defection has led to the trading of accusations and counter-accusations among political bigwigs in the state and across the country, while also incubating a crisis environment in the state’s politics.
Since the defection, Governor Umahi has continued to woo leaders of his former party, the People Democratic Party (PDP) in a bid to effect a mass defection to the APC. On the other hand, the Ebonyi PDP has been attempting to have a firm grip on its members to stall mass defection moves.
Umahi, had last week Friday after the state security council meeting, accused the PDP leaders in the state including Anyim, senators, Sam Egwu and Obinma Ogba, and PDP acting Vice Chairman, South-east, Ali Odefa, of plotting to use members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to unleash mayhem in the state.
In an open letter to the President, Muhammadu Buhari, Inspector-General of Police; Director-General, Department of State Services, and the Chief of Defence Staff on Monday, Anyim alleged Umahi was raising dust to “divert the attention of the public before he strikes.”
Describing Gov. Umahi as a leader under a spell, the former Senate President noted that the allegations by Umahi against him and other PDP leaders in the state was an attempt to hide the sinister motive of the governor to kill him and other prominent leaders in the state.
He said:” It is clear that Gov. Umahi may have been told that he needed to kill a high profile person in order to achieve his mad ambition.
“Ebonyians should be wise to know that Umahi is under a spell and those he is prepared to use for the killing should know that after using them, he will also plan to kill them to cover his track.”
Anyim said that the only offence he and other political leaders in PDP committed is that they refused to follow Gov.Umahi in his “political adventure” to the defect to APC.
He revealed that he had turned down the governor’s entreaties for him to defect to APC. “The only offence we committed is that we refused to follow Gov. Umahi in his political adventure.
“We do not know when belonging to parties of one’s choice has become an offence against a Governor or means fighting a Governor.
“In his delusion, he believed his own lies that he is the only man who matters in Ebonyi State. He did not consult with anybody notable before consummating his defection to APC. After his defection, no person of note followed him.
“Unable to contain and manage the unsavoury reactions from the public he ran to my home in the company of some high-profile people, on the 20th of November 2020, and pleaded with me to defect to APC, saying that if I do, others will follow suit. I pointed out to him that his approach has made it almost impossible for anybody to defect.
“He pleaded with me that if I cannot defect now, I should not attend any PDP meetings, and I said no, I must attend PDP meetings as long as I am in PDP.
“He realized that he could not persuade anybody when he saw the crème of Ebonyi Elders and citizen that gathered for the inauguration of PDP Caretaker Committee. He could no longer sleep and declared war on everyone who has refused to defect with him,” the former Senate President added. See excerpts from the full text of Anyim’s open letter below:
OPEN LETTER ON GOVERNOR DAVID UMAHI, HIS WILD, INFANTILE, AND UTTERLY SENSELESS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST MY PERSON
In a widely circulated media briefing on the 27th November after a formal Ebonyi State security council meeting, Governor Umahi stated as follows:
“I want the media to note, that I reported an allegation that some Ebonyi people are engaging cultists and according to them some IPOB Members to start killing and causing crisis in Ebonyi State in the name of fighting Ebonyi State Government and the governor and their leader is Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and their members are Dr. Sam Egwu, Senator Obinna Ogba, Mr. Ali Odefa and others……The same Senator Anyim Pius Anyim fought the former Governor Sam Egwu and many people were killed…
1. I would not have bothered to respond to this gibberish by a sinking man but for the compelling need to put the records straight and forewarn the public about the sinister plans of a man who personifies everything ignoble, shameless and despicable.
Gov. Umahi is pitiably delusional. He is a prisoner of his greed and inordinate ambition. Here is a drowning man looking for who to drag down with him….
2. The case at hand is his defection to APC on the 19th of November, 2020…When he spews these allegations, he would not even mind whether they make sense or not. He did not have the mental capacity to reason that no party in less than two years into a new term would bring the next election unto the front burner. That even in APC where he has gone to, the issue of next election is not yet on the table as doing so would distract the government.
3. People who know Gov. Umahi know that he normally starts this way whenever he is hatching a sinister plan. He raises dusts, makes wild allegations and accusations against people just to divert the attention of the public before he strikes…
4. Unable to contain and manage the unsavory reactions from the public he ran to my home in the company of some high-profile people, on the 20th of November 2020, and pleaded with me to defect to APC, saying that if I do, others will follow suit….
5. I would not have taken his present spew of baseless allegations seriously, but because I suspect he is under a spell and perhaps something is pursuing him. He may have been told that he will need to kill before he would achieve his present enterprise and so to build up a scenario for him to kill, he will need to spew allegations of killings even when they make no sense. I have no doubt that Governor Umahi may have been told that he needed blood to accomplish his present enterprise, otherwise how can a man in his 6th year as Governor of a State suddenly realise that a former President of the Senate, a former Governor of the State and two-time serving Senator Dr. Sam Egwu, Senator Obinna Ogba, two time serving Senator, are now cultists and IPOB members. Something is wrong somewhere…
Gov. Umahi’s modus operandi are well known and his moves are easily predictable. The three examples below will elucidate this point:
1. The case with Pastor Ephraim Ononye
Pastor Ononye was the pastor to Gov. Umahi’s campaign organization in 2015. Midway into his term, he requested the pastor to start praying for the next term. The pastor declined to be part of his second term agenda. He was so enraged that he walked the pastor out. The following day he accused the pastor of murder and that he was running an illegal school. He unleased security agents against the pastor. The pastor’s school with about 900 pupils was closed till today. On the 2nd of June 2017 while the church was having a night vigil with some widows, he sent security agents to go and close the church. They manhandled and threw the women out into the rain and seven days later, one of the women died. That wicked act has continued to hunt Governor Umahi till date. It is obvious that the spirit of error has come upon him….
2. The case of Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh
Professor Odo was the first of the three SSGs he has had so far. When Prof Odo could not fit into his various schemes, he decided to resign with a widely publicized resignation letter. Governor Umahi was so offended and hit back by setting up a committee to probe the Agric loan disbursement committee which the former SSG chaired. The former SSG responded by writing to EFCC to thoroughly and properly investigate the Agric loan saga as he was ready to provide all information relating to the purported loan transactions. When Governor Umahi realized that the former SSG was not intimated but ready to spill the beans, he backed down and nothing till today is heard of that committee. He had since reached out to the former SSG for a truce but the man rebuffed him…
3. The case of Charles Otu
Charles Otu is a journalist in Abakaliki, he wrote an article that was offensive to the Governor. On the 3rd of June 2017 while he was at a newspaper stand, a bus with the inscription “Akubaraohia Youth Vanguard” pull up and at gun point he was dragged into the bus and taken to one corner of Government House, Abakaliki where he received severe beatings until he passed out and they dropped him on the street, up till today, Mr. Otu is yet to regain his full composure…
a. I believe that Gov. Umahi needs help. He was not in this shape when I picked him. His present behaviour is certainly not normal. His behaviour and utterances are strangest whenever he puts on the costume for the new enterprise – an oversized white Agbada and an elongated red hat that over sizes his head. I want to advice his brothers to seek psychiatric and psychological help for him before it is too late.
b. The only offence we committed is that we refused to follow Gov. Umahi in his political adventure. We do not know when belonging to parties of one’s choice has become an offence against a Governor or means fighting a Governor.
c. It is clear that Gov. Umahi may have been told that he needs to kill a high-profile person in order to achieve his mad ambition…Examples abound.
d. Security agencies, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Judges should note that Gov. Umahi had boasted as follows:
– That one of the gains of his defection is that he has been promised absolute use of the security agencies for all that he desires to do.
– That the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation is his friend and will soon visit Abakaliki the second time and that he will use him to deal with those opposed to him using the EFCC…
e. To notify the public that I fully understand that what Umahi meant by “this will be the last fight I will fight”, is that he will kill me so that I will not live to fight again. While I invite the security agencies to note this plan, I want to assure Gov. Umahi that my blood is not available for him in pursuit of his ambition…
f. To assure the street dinner Governor that no amount of blackmail or intimidation will compel any of us to follow him.
g. Gov. Umahi should know that there is a record of those who died mysteriously, violently, and those who just disappeared since he became governor of Ebonyi State.
On my own part, I will continue to pray for him to recover from his delusion.
God bless Nigeria.
ANYIM, PIUS ANYIM, GCON
Former President of the Senate
Former Secretary to Government of the Federation
