By Opeyemi Adelakun
Minister of Works, David Umahi, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will win all five states in the South-East during the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi made the prediction during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he urged people in the region to move away from what he described as regional politics.
“The president is going to harvest a lot of votes in the south-east,” Umahi said.
“My faith is telling me we will win the five states. I’m working for it. I’m explaining to our people.”
The minister also appealed to residents of the region to embrace broader national political engagement rather than restricting their choices along regional lines.
“We shouldn’t play regional politics. It doesn’t help us. As a region, we should be able to, you know, have a handshake across the nation,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress currently controls Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi states, while Abia is governed by the Labour Party and Anambra by the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Umahi: Buhari administration marginalised South-East
Umahi also criticised the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, saying the South-East was largely excluded from major federal appointments during his tenure.
“Service chiefs, we got none. Major ministerial portfolio, we got none. And so the marginalisation continued and even increased at that point,” he said.
The minister contrasted that record with Tinubu’s administration, pointing to his own appointment as Minister of Works and other senior positions occupied by people from the region.
“But now, the story is totally different. I’m a minister of works. We never had a minister of works before. We have a minister of foreign affairs.
“We have a minister of science and industry. We are very happy with the appointments we’ve gotten. We are very happy,” Umahi said.
He said Tinubu had brought the South-East closer to the centre of federal decision-making and maintained that the region was seeking fairness rather than preferential treatment.
“We just want to be fairly treated,” the minister said.
Umahi also referred to discussions around the proposed creation of a sixth state in the South-East, describing the issue as work in progress.
He argued that equity required the region to have a similar number of states to other parts of the country.
On infrastructure, Umahi recalled his experience as Ebonyi governor, saying he had not seen federal government roads or bridges delivered in the region during his eight years in office.
He, however, said the situation had changed under Tinubu, pointing to projects he described as part of the President’s legacy infrastructure programme.
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