Umahi: Tinubu has done very well for the south-east… we’ll vote for him in 2027

David Umahi, the minister of works, says President Bola Tinubu’s inclusive governance and infrastructural investments in the south-east will earn him the region’s support in the 2027 general election.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, Umahi said the Tinubu administration has ended years of exclusion of the south-east from national development, particularly in infrastructure and security.

He said the president has deliberately integrated the region into federal development plans, adding that claims of marginalisation are no longer tenable.

“President Bola Tinubu has done very well for the south-east and we will vote for him come 2027,” Umahi said.

While acknowledging agitation by some south-east leaders that it is the turn of the region to produce the country’s president, the minister said Tinubu should be allowed to complete his eight-year tenure.

“If I have never been president since, is it Bola Tinubu that will make it overnight by ceding his own position?” he asked. 

“No, he has to complete his two tenors. We are comfortable with what he is doing.”

Umahi said the inclusion currently enjoyed by the south-east is a step towards addressing historical grievances, noting that other regions, including the south-south, have also benefited.

“There is no need for Biafra agitation. We are better in Nigeria,” he said. 

He urged south-east leaders to speak out against misinformation and what he described as uninformed criticism of the administration.

“We cannot keep quiet while people that don’t have economic knowledge and the knowledge of our administration will be darkening counsel without knowledge,” he said.

UMAHI ADDRESSES ABARIBE’S CLAIM

The minister also responded to recent comments by Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia south, who questioned the level of federal presence in the south-east. 

Umahi said the remarks were inaccurate and reflected an opposition standpoint, stressing the need to set the record straight.

“I boast, and I will continue to boast, that all south-east governors are supporting Mr President because of the inclusive governance he has provided,” he said.

Umahi listed several projects as evidence of the administration’s commitment to the region, including the establishment of an army training depot in Ebonyi state to address insecurity, the operationalisation of the Enyimba power plant, and the appointment of key security chiefs from the south-east.

He also mentioned major road and bridge projects such as sections of the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway, the trans-Saharan road passing through Ebonyi, Enugu and Benue states, the second Niger bridge bypass, the Enugu–Abakaliki dual carriageway, the Enugu–Onitsha road and the Enugu–Port Harcourt expressway.

According to him, many of the projects had stalled for decades before being revived by the Tinubu administration, with several already fully funded or receiving substantial advance payments.

 ‘PROCUREMENT ACT NOT VIOLATED IN LAGOS-CALABAR COASTAL ROAD PROJECT’

Umahi rejected allegations of procurement violations in the award of the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway project, urging critics to familiarise themselves with the Procurement Act.

He said due process, including environmental and social impact assessments and stakeholder engagement, was followed, adding that international financiers such as the Dutch Development Bank had endorsed the project.

“The project was oversubscribed by international financiers. These are not people you deceive,” he said.

Umahi called for constructive criticism based on facts and urged Nigerians to engage nationally rather than pursue separatist agitation.

He expressed confidence that by the end of Tinubu’s tenure, Nigeria would be more united, stable and economically stronger.

“The journey has just started, and we believe strongly in this administration. The south-east is better in Nigeria,” he said.