‘I am not on your level’ – Umahi fires back at Reps Committee chair

David Umahi, the Minister of Works, has publicly responded to accusations from Remi Oseni, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), who criticized him for alleged misprioritization.

This exchange took place during a hearing on Thursday, where Oseni pointed to the declining state of the country’s road infrastructure, claiming that Umahi’s focus was primarily on securing funding rather than addressing pressing infrastructural issues.

In a rebuttal on Monday, Umahi stated that Oseni had not yet achieved half of what he has accomplished in his career.

Despite the sharp critique, the former governor emphasized that he would refrain from engaging in a public dispute, citing his respect for the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

He said, “His (Oseni) time is very damaging to the wonderful institution of the National Assembly, especially the 10th national assembly. For the respect of the Speaker and, of course, the Senate President and the National Assembly institution that I belong to, I will refrain myself from joining issues with him.

“He said I have failed… No one in life ever said I have failed and I have never failed in anything I am involved in and if he likes, he should go and check my pedigree.

“I believe that God has to be with him to attain half of what I have attained in life. So, I will not join issues with him because I have tremendous respect for Mr Speaker and the National Assembly.

“But I will try to clarify some things. He said I was involved in some issues… Yes, he is right because he sounded as if he was representing the contractors and what were the issues? The issue of Variation of Price and that was a very terrible programme that was eroding the little resources we put in the budget.”