Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has disclosed that some people urged President Bola Tinubu to remove him from office following the death of one of his staff members, but the President instead encouraged him to continue his work.
Umahi made the revelation in a recent public speech that has been circulating on social media and was seen by SaharaReporters on Monday morning.
Speaking on the controversy surrounding the death of one of his staff members, whom he did not identify by name but described as a “young lady” and who is believed to be Mary Habila, a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW), Umahi said some critics had sought to exploit the incident for political purposes.
He said: “Power and might do not belong to social media; they belong to God. God sees the hearts of men. God surprised me when people took the death of one of my best workers and started to play politics with it.
“They said the President should sack me. Why should he sack me? For doing what? Because somebody working with me died, then I must be sacked?
“But the President surprised all of them. He told me, ‘Dave, go and build more roads.’
“The death of my staff member, together with that of one of my uncles who also collapsed after watching a football match, made me decide that there would be no celebration after my birthday. That was why I directed that it should not be celebrated because we were mourning.
“But some people wanted to profit from it. Some people turned it into politics. My prayer is that if any member of my family or I had any hand in it, let our own fate be worse. But for those who want to profit from it and play politics with it, if what they are saying is true, let it be well with them. Otherwise, the fate that befell the young lady will be worse for them. It is a fair prayer.”
The circumstances surrounding Habila’s death have continued to attract widespread public attention since she died on June 27, 2026, under controversial circumstances at Umahi’s residence in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Following SaharaReporters’ reports on the incident, Umahi confirmed that Habila died at his residence. He maintained that she was a physiotherapist who had been seconded from the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS) to work with the Federal Ministry of Works and said he had requested a forensic autopsy to establish the exact cause of her death.
However, SaharaReporters later reported that Habila was a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW), contrary to claims that she was a physiotherapist. The report followed a statement by the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP), which said her name was not listed in its register of licensed physiotherapists.
The controversy deepened as disagreements emerged over the proposed forensic autopsy. Although Habila’s family initially opposed the examination and sought the release of her body for burial, they later agreed to an autopsy on the condition that the investigation be transferred from Ebonyi State to the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Subsequently, the Nigeria Police Force took over the investigation, and Habila’s body was moved to the National Hospital, Abuja, where the forensic examination was expected to be conducted.
The case has since generated sustained public interest and renewed calls for an independent, transparent and credible investigation to determine the cause of her death.
