Just In: APC produces senatorial candidate to replace Tinubu’s minister, Umahi, in Ebonyi

Anthony Okorie Ani has clichéd the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the Ebonyi South senatorial by-election.

Ani polled 281 out of 285 votes cast at the APC primary held in Afikpo local government area on Saturday, January 6. Ani emerges as APC candidate to fill Umahi’s seat in the Senate.

According to The Nation, Ani was the only candidate at the APC primaries.

The primary election was conducted to fill the vacant seat left behind by Senator David Umahi following his appointment as a minister by President Bola Tinubu. The by-election has been scheduled for February.

Ani, a professor of Agricultural Extension Administration at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), promised to bring agricultural ingenuity to the Senate if elected, Daily Trust reported.

Akpabio declares Senate seats of Tinubu's ministers vacant

Legit.ng earlier reported that Senate President Godswill Akpabio declared the seats of Umahi and Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe East Senatorial District vacant This was after the two senators assumed office as President Tinubu's ministers.

The Senate, therefore, asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections to fill their vacant seats immediately.

Gbajabiamila, Umahi and Geidam were inaugurated as members of the 10th National Assembly in June 2023, but they resigned in August after President Tinubu appointed them as members of his cabinet.

Umahi's younger brother seeks to replace him in Senate

Chief Austin Umahi, the younger brother of Umahi, declared his intention to run for the Ebonyi South senatorial seat re-run election.

Austin announced his ambition at a news briefing in Abakaliki, the state capital, on Monday, December 25.

The director-general of the APC Governorship Campaign in the 2023 general elections said he was eminently qualified and remained a top contender for the position.

Umahi's brother withdraws from race

He later withdrew from the Ebonyi South senatorial by-election. Austin made the decision on Friday, December 29, after Governor Francis Nwifuru ordered the State APC Working Committee to zone the position to the Onicha local government area.

It was gathered that Austin was prevailed upon to withdraw from the race during an Umahi family's meeting at Uburu, Ohaozara local government area.