Umahi claims that Tinubu pushed her to step down in favor of Akpabio.

When Umahi arrived in the state from Abuja on Monday, he made the revelation while responding to questions from reporters at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Onueke. The governor claimed that after talking with Tinubu about running for Senate, he decided to comply with his request for the sake of the South East region and the All Progressives Congress.

"We talked about it when he was in Paris, and when he got back, he invited me.

"It was an honor to accept the president-elect's invitation, and he informed me that he had made arrangements.

"He has the right to do so as the president-elect, just as anyone competing for a position of that nature does.

He said, "I accepted because I didn't want to be a brick in the way of his progress."
The South-East, according to Umahi, could no longer remain in the opposition, thus his decision to withdraw from the contest was in its best interests. "Since politics is all about conversation and giving and taking, we cannot keep opposing everything.
What might have occurred if I had said no? "We will get a real position," he remarked, referring to the efforts the zone had made to advance the APC.

The governor claimed he was unaware of any resolution by South-East senators endorsing Sen. Orji Kalu, a former governor of Abia, for the position.

We have more APC senators on our side, I can assure you as the head of the Akpabio campaign committee, he stated.

He declared that he would never advocate for a position as a minister in the incoming administration, instead leaving the choice up to fate, Tinubu, and the party.

I'll accept whatever God wills for me, but I'd rather rest in the Senate as a person.

"However, if it is the sacrifice to make in the interest of the party, South-East, and to help the president-elect," he continued, "I will have no choice."