The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed calls for his removal from office following the death of a female staff member at his private residence, saying President Bola Tinubu instead directed him to remain focused on delivering infrastructure projects.

Umahi made the remarks in a video which started trending on X on Monday, while reacting to criticism that followed the death of Mary Habila, a staff member attached to the Federal Ministry of Works, whose death in June sparked widespread reactions on social media.

According to the minister, some individuals sought to politicise the incident by demanding his dismissal.

“Power and might don’t belong to social media, it belongs to God,” Umahi wrote.

He added, “When people took the death of one of my staff and started playing politics with it, they said the president should sack me, but the president surprised all of them and said, ‘Dave, go and build more roads.’”

Umahi’s comments come amid continued public interest in the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death.

The minister did not address the ongoing investigation into the incident in the statement but maintained that he would remain committed to his responsibilities.

The death of the ministry staff member generated widespread reactions online, with some social media users calling for greater accountability while awaiting the outcome of official investigations.

Authorities have yet to publicly announce the final outcome of investigations into the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death.

Watch the video below: