The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has attributed Peter Obi’s sweeping victory across the South-East in the 2023 presidential election to the alleged marginalisation of the region by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Umahi, however, said the political situation had changed under President Bola Tinubu, expressing confidence that the All Progressives Congress would win all five South-East states in the 2027 presidential election.
The former Ebonyi State governor spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
He also dismissed Obi’s growing opposition to Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that the former Anambra State governor was no longer the only major presidential contender from the South-East.
“By the way, it is not only Peter Obi that is from the South-East that is contesting. We have about three or four other presidential candidates who are contesting,” Umahi said.
He added, “We have the Labour Party and I think there are other two, even a woman is involved. So, Peter Obi is not a threat as far as I am concerned.”
Umahi said he was not underestimating Obi, but argued that the Tinubu administration’s performance would determine the APC’s acceptability in the region.
He recalled that Obi, then the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, won all five states in the South-East during the 2023 election.
According to Umahi, the result reflected widespread dissatisfaction over what he described as the exclusion of the region from key positions under Buhari.
“I will not blame the South-East in the last election because, virtually, we were not fairly treated by the past administration,” he said.
“Service chiefs, we got none; major ministerial portfolios, we got none. And so, the marginalisation continued, and they even increased at that point. And so you will not totally blame them for that.”
The minister argued that Tinubu had taken steps to address the perceived imbalance through appointments of prominent South-East politicians into strategic positions.
“But now, the story is totally different. I’m the Minister of Works; we have never had a Minister of Works before. We have a Minister of Foreign Affairs; we have a Minister of Science and Industry,” Umahi said.
“We are very happy with the appointments we’ve got. They’re very happy. Now, we have done quite a lot.”
Umahi’s comments came as political parties and presidential hopefuls intensify mobilisation and negotiations ahead of the 2027 general elections.