Minister of Works, David Umahi, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will secure victory across all five states in the South-East in the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi made the prediction during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he also urged people in the region to move beyond 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,” he added.
The minister called on residents of the South-East to embrace broader national political engagement, arguing that regional politics would not benefit the zone.
“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 APC currently controls Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi states, while Abia is governed by the Labour Party and Anambra by the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Umahi also defended the Tinubu administration’s relationship with the South-East, saying the region had experienced marginalisation under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, the South-East was previously excluded from major government positions, including key security and ministerial appointments.
“Service chiefs, we got none. Major ministerial portfolio, we got none. And so the marginalisation continued and even increased at that point,” Umahi said.
He argued that the situation had changed under Tinubu, citing the appointments of South-East politicians to key positions in the federal government.
“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,” he said.
Umahi said the South-East was not demanding preferential treatment but fairness in the distribution of political appointments, resources and infrastructure.
“We just want to be fairly treated. And I want to thank the National Assembly. We are talking about getting the sixth state in the South-East. It’s a work in progress,” he said.
The former Ebonyi State governor also highlighted infrastructure projects in the region, recalling that during his eight years as governor, he did not see a federal government road or bridge project in the South-East.
“But in terms of infrastructure, I told you that as governor for eight years, there was no federal government route or bridge that came to the South-East. But look at the legacy project of the president,” he added.
Umahi’s comments come as political parties and presidential candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 general election, with the South-East expected to remain an important focus of political campaigns.
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