The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has dismissed allegations of sexual harassment and non-payment for supply of political campaign materials, made against him by a businesswoman identified as Tracynither Nicolas Ohiri.
The Minister has demanded proof of the transaction even as he threatened legal action over the allegations.
The Minister disclosed this during his visit to Independence Bridge in Lagos on Thursday, after the ugly experience of traffic gridlock by Lagos residents on Wednesday as a result of rehabilitation works on the bridge.
The Minister, who promised to remain in Lagos until the rehabilitation work was completed, directed all state controllers of works to always obtain approval from the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja before closing any road or bridge for repairs.
“I want to use this opportunity to say that no Controller of Works and no engineer in the Ministry of Works should close the road or close any bridge without getting permission through the permanent secretary to me. And then approval is given in writing. And, of course, for FERMA, the MD and the Permanent Secretary must go through the Honourable Minister of State. And if it’s going to cause a major gridlock, the Honourable Minister of State will let me know. So, I will visit the place, and then we will use a technical solution and deploy a better method statement.”
Umahi, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, also responded to the allegations and threats made on social media by a woman who gave her name as Tracynither Nicolas Ohiri and who claimed to have supplied campaign materials to him during his governorship campaign in Ebonyi State in 2014,
“The Minister dismissed the allegations and accusations by the woman as absolutely unfounded, pretenciously orchestrated and politically masterminded by detractors to ingloriously sully his reputation for selfish motives.
“He challenged the woman to show proof of such transaction, noting that the accusation of sexual harassment is ridiculous as such baseless and substanceless accusations have become a stock in trade of some women who are desperate to bring down the good name of perceived enemies for unpatriotic gains. He said that a legal redress is underway to serve as a deterrence to others,” the statement quoted Umahi as saying.
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