The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has urged people of the Southeast to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election, saying votes from the region alone cannot make former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi president.
Gatekeepers News reports that Umahi made the call over the weekend while speaking with journalists in Okigwe, Imo State, after inspecting the 65-kilometre Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe federal road project.
The project is being executed under the Federal Government’s tax-credit scheme, with Dangote Industries Limited as the sponsor and Hi-Tech Construction as the contractor.
The minister said Tinubu had support from other regions, arguing that the Southeast needed to adopt a strategic approach to the 2027 election rather than repeat what he described as the mistake of 2023.
He also urged residents of the region to appreciate the Tinubu administration through their votes, citing the infrastructure projects being undertaken across the Southeast.
“We need to stand up for the President, we need to stand up for this champion, we need to stand up for this man that says Nigeria belongs to all of us, that South East is part of Nigeria,” Umahi said.
“And so, we will commit to appreciating him, to showing gratitude to come out of sentiments. Then I can assure you that more will happen in 2027.”
Umahi specifically called on the Southeast to vote for Tinubu, saying regional support alone would not be sufficient to secure the presidency for Obi.
“South East must vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, South East must know that our vote alone cannot make our brother, His Excellency Peter Obi, to be President,” he said.
“No, we have to be strategic. And for those that misunderstand us, His Excellency Peter Obi is my friend and my colleague. We have been governors, he might be a senior one but governor is governor and we also contested presidential intention together. He didn’t get, I didn’t get.”
Umahi said he was pleased that Tinubu emerged victorious in the 2023 presidential election and maintained that the administration’s infrastructure projects across the country justified his support for the President.
He added that, as a minister, he considered himself to be “on the ballot” because his performance in office and the projects being delivered in the Southeast would ultimately be assessed by the people.
“I don’t insult my brother but I boldly say do not vote for His Excellency Peter Obi, vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Is there any crime in that? This is very important,” he said.
The minister also criticised those who attack him for expressing a different political opinion, saying democracy requires tolerance and respect for divergent views.
“You have to accommodate divergent views, you have to accommodate the feelings of others,” he said.
Umahi said the Federal Government’s infrastructure interventions in the Southeast demonstrated the administration’s commitment to the region.
“If the projects that the President is using me to do, if they make sense, then there is sense in these things that I am telling our people,” he said.
60-metre mountain targeted for removal
Speaking on the Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe road, Umahi said a 60-metre-high mountain along the corridor had historically posed a major safety challenge to motorists and contributed to several fatal accidents.
He said the Tinubu administration was determined to remove the obstacle and deliver a safer and more efficient highway.
“This mountain, by the command of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must collapse for the people of South-East,” Umahi said.
Describing the section as one of the most technically demanding portions of the project, he said its successful removal would represent a major infrastructure achievement and help reduce loss of lives along the route.
“This place is very challenging. We have a mountain that is over 60 metres high. If God helps us in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to achieve this, this will be a major saving of lives for the people of South-East. This place has consumed many lives,” he said.
Umahi disclosed that more than 20 kilometres of the 65-kilometre road had been completed, while commending the contractor for the quality of work.
He particularly praised the concrete pavement being used on the project, describing it as superior to what was obtainable on some other major Federal Government highway projects.
The minister maintained that the Federal Government’s interventions in the Southeast should be assessed based on tangible infrastructure delivery and economic impact rather than political sentiments.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, Southeast, Chioma Nweze, also commended the Federal Government for prioritising strategic road infrastructure in the region.
Nweze said the Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe highway would improve connectivity, open up communities and markets, and stimulate commercial activities across the affected states.
She listed the Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Enugu-Abakaliki, Abakaliki Trans-Sahara and Onitsha-Owerri roads among other major Federal Government projects currently ongoing in the Southeast.
According to her, the projects demonstrate the Tinubu administration’s commitment to addressing critical infrastructure gaps and integrating the Southeast more firmly into the national economic development framework.
The Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe highway is expected to provide a strategic transport link between Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states, improve access to markets and institutions, and facilitate movement along adjoining interstate highways when completed.
