Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, was left speaking on stage without a microphone after a presidential aide appeared to take it from him while he was addressing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and praising Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani for allegedly putting pressure on him to ensure the completion of a road project.
Umahi was seen standing on the podium with Senator Abdul’aziz Yari, Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), standing behind him when Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Public Enlightenment, was seen pulling the microphone away from the minister.
The incident occurred as Umahi was speaking about the road project and recounting the pressure he said Governor Sani had mounted on him to ensure its completion.
Addressing Tinubu, Umahi said: “I, with all humility, our dear president and father, request that you come over here to officially commission this very important road.
“I must commend the governor of Kaduna State, who was harassing me day and night to ensure that this project was done. I thank Alhaji Masari, who reported me severally to you to ensure that the project is done.”
Umahi’s remarks appeared to draw attention to the role played by the Kaduna State governor in pushing for the road project to be completed, with the minister describing the governor’s repeated interventions as a form of pressure on him.
However, as Umahi continued speaking, Abdulaziz was seen reaching for and pulling the microphone away from him, interrupting his address in the presence of the president and other political leaders.
Another person was also heard telling the minister, “But that’s not what you were told to say,” suggesting that Umahi’s remarks may have departed from what he had been instructed to say.
The incident comes amid political activities surrounding Tinubu’s re-election campaign, during which the completion and commissioning of road infrastructure projects have featured prominently in public engagements involving federal and state government officials.
