ABUJA – Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said that the South-East zone must exercise patience in its quest for Nigeria’s presidency, declaring that it is not yet its turn to produce the country’s next leader.
Umahi stated this in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
He emphasised the need for political fairness and continuity in 2027, referencing the good works that President Bola Tinubu had been doing since his assumption of office in 2023.
“No, it is not our time; it is not the time of South-East yet. We the 17 Southern governors went to Asaba before 2023 and we went to say, listen, it doesn’t matter the political party, but the next president should come from the South.
“All of us tried but the crown came upon President Bola Tinubu. He is from the South and so, it is wrong for the south-east to come and say, oh, it is their turn.
“No, he (Tinubu) has to finish eight years. The eight years he took is for all of us, both the South and the North. So he has to finish, and when he has finished in 2031, the south-east now can vie, in the sense that they have never tasted the position before.
“The North-East too can vie in the sense that they have not tasted the position before. I believe strongly that it is when equity and fairness have been established that equity and rotation will become a thing of joy.
“So for me, it is not the time (of the south-east). And when the time comes, we have sons and daughters that are eminently qualified (to contest for president),” he said.
According to Umahi, there are people “very eminently qualified and better” than those who are clamouring for it now.
The minister, however, admitted that the south-east had suffered some measure of marginalization in the past, stating that that was why it was very difficult for some governors like him to deliver the zone for the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general elections.
APC performed poorly in 2023 in the south-east, with the entire zone delivering a paltry 5.85 of the entire votes in the zone to the party.
Umahi attributed the situation to what he called unfair treatment of the south-east people in the past.
“But right now, President Bola Tinubu does not want to know where you come from. He is treating everybody very nicely.
“The south-east might say they did not get a lot of appointments, but the position of the Minister of Works is equivalent to five grade A ministers.
“The question is that there was a time we (south-east) had all sorts of appointments. Did it translate into infrastructure development? The answer is No.
“But if it is only one or two or three or four or five that we have now and we are doing over N350 billion projects from Enugu to Onitsha by this president. MTN, N202 billion; and then CBC, N150 billion.
“If we are spending N174 billion to do the second access routes in Anambra state to Anambra second access which is about 35 kilometres, and we are spending money to connect the south-east.
“Yesterday (Saturday), I saw on social media where the roads in Onitsha and Owerri cut into two. We have sent people there that are mobilising to do the work; the president has awarded that project,” he said.
Although the minister admitted that there had been some “little challenges” in funding, he, however, said that the contractors had been convinced to believe in the ministry that they would be paid and so they should go back to site.
He highlighted other roads currently being constructed in the zone to include the Port Harcourt-Aba road, Aba-Umuahia road, Umuahia-Lokpanta road and Lokpanta-Enugu road, which he said were worth over N100 billion.
He also mentioned the Enugu dualisation to Abakaliki, which is N183 billion, as well as the Trans-Sahara road from Ebonyi to the Benue boundary, which he put at N456 billion.
Umahi said the president was also constructing the Afigbo-Uturu-Okigwe road through Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states valued at N193 billion under the Dangote tax credit scheme, and connecting bridges between Cross River and Ebonyi within the Afikpo and Aduferegbe axes.
He added that the Abakpa and Obinago flyovers in Enugu, as well as two bridges that failed during the 2023 flood, were also being handled by the Tinubu administration.
“So, we have no reason not to be grateful to the president. I do not know what else, and of course, we have the Chief of Naval Staff too,” he said.
According to him, while it istrue that the south-east can compete favourably with other zones and that its people can beat their chest that they can do it, they should, however, be very sensitive to the situation on ground.
“Yes, acknowledge the past, but let us also emphasise the realities of what is happening now,” he said.
Umahi said that he could beat his chest about what Tinubu had done for the south-east in the last two years.
“We should be clapping with our hands and legs for President Bola Tinubu. And the point remains that my appointment as Minister of Works is one appointment too many.
“This is because it is not just the appointment; it is what you have used it to do for the entire country,” he added.
