Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said described the southeast support for the former Anambra governor, Peter Obi in 2023 as an “accident of history.”
He claimed that the region’s support for Obi was driven by anger over years of marginalisation.
He, however, stated that the reverse would be the case in 2027 because of President Bola Tinubu’s treatment of the region.
NEWSNGR reports that Umahi spoke during an interview with Arise News Anchor Ojy Okpe.
“In 2023, it was an accident of history. It was a demonstration of the anger of the people of South East on how they were treated.” Umahi said.
The Works Minister said the region had legitimate reasons to feel aggrieved at the time, citing what he described as inadequate federal appointments and infrastructure.
“We’ve been marginalised in the past, but it’s no longer so,” he said.
Umahi argued that Tinubu had changed the political equation through increased federal infrastructure and appointments for the Southeast, predicting that voters would acknowledge that treatment when they return to the polls in 2027.
“If in 2023 they demonstrated their anger, in 2027 they are going to demonstrate their joy on how the President has treated them,” he said.
Umahi maintained that the Southeast would “pay the President” for what he described as Tinubu’s commitment to the region, particularly through major infrastructure projects.
He pointed to ongoing federal road projects and other investments as evidence that the region had received greater attention under the current administration.
The minister also argued that the political environment had changed significantly since 2023, saying serving governors, former governors, traditional rulers and other influential figures across the Southeast were increasingly aligned with Tinubu.
He said voters would be reluctant to abandon what he described as tangible infrastructure gains in favour of another political “gamble.”
He maintained that Tinubu’s record in the region would ultimately determine the 2027 vote rather than the voting pattern recorded four years earlier.
Asked whether he believed Tinubu would defeat Obi in the Southeast in 2027, Umahi was emphatic.
“Why do you say I believe?” he responded. “That is what is going to happen!”
Umahi said the Southeast would not repeat its 2023 electoral choice because, in his assessment, the circumstances that produced that result had fundamentally changed
