Nigeria’s Minister of Works and former Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has been accused of refusing to pay a businesswoman, Tracynither Nicolas Ohiri, for promotional items she supplied during his 2014 governorship campaign.
The former governor led Ebonyi state for eight years from 2015 to 2023. Prior to that, he was a deputy governor of the state.
In an interview on Friday, Mrs Ohiri alleged that Umahi deliberately withheld the N200 million payment because she rejected his $exual advances.
She claimed that Umahi initially assured her she would be paid after he won the 2014 gubernatorial election. However, she said that when she began demanding her money, he attempted to turn their business relationship into a personal affair.
“When I supplied him with the goods, he told me that he did not have money, but that I should not worry. As soon as he finished contesting for the governorship election and won, he would repay me,” she said.
She alleged that after Umahi became governor, he started avoiding her calls and only engaged with her when she entertained his advances.
“When he won the election and became governor, I started asking him for my money, and he began asking me out,” she stated. “I gave him about a year and eight months before I started asking for my money. So, anytime I asked him for payment, he would say, ‘No problem, I’m going to pay you.’ But then he would bring up the topic he had been discussing with me.”
She further alleged that when she refused his advances, he became angry and stopped responding to her calls.
“When he mentioned it to me twice, he took offence and said, ‘Do you know that since I was born, no woman has said no to me?’ I said I don’t know about that, but I cannot have anything to do with you, sir. I want it to be purely business. The next thing he did was block me.”
Ohiri said that after years of trying to get her money, she has resorted to public protests and social media campaigns to demand payment.
Ohiri, a mother, lamented how Umahi’s alleged refusal to pay her has left her struggling financially while his son enjoys a luxurious lifestyle.
“Give me my money. I am a mother with children. I see your son flying private jets. The money your son is using to fly private jets is enough for you to pay me. You withheld my capital. I am a nursing mother; I need my payment. I have waited enough for nine years.”
Meanwhile, a similar controversy recently involved Senate President Godswill Akpabio, a key politician in Tinubu’s government.
In February 2025, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Akpabio of sexual harassment, alleging that he made inappropriate advances toward her during a visit to his residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on December 8, 2023.
She claimed that Akpabio tacitly demanded sex from her to facilitate the consideration of her motions in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Senate has suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, citing violations of legislative rules.
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