Minister of Works Dave Umahi has said the South-East should wait for another opportunity to produce Nigeria’s President, arguing that the 2027 presidency should remain with President Bola Tinubu.
Umahi made the remarks on Thursday in Benin City at an event marking the Federal Government’s intervention on the Benin-Asaba Road, where he also responded to comparisons between him and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi.
The minister rejected suggestions that Obi was superior to him, saying their backgrounds, intellectual capacity and records in public service could be assessed side by side.
He said his defence of Tinubu was necessary because he was part of the administration and could not remain silent when the President’s record was criticised.
Umahi also maintained that the eventual emergence of an Igbo president was a question of timing rather than impossibility, saying the South-East would produce the President at some point.
“And when that guy says that Peter Obi is not my match, it took me ten minutes to think about it; is it in my larger family background that his is better than my own? Is it in intellectual capacity? Is it in what we have done for the people of South-East? Is it what we did when we were governors?
“So, when you say he is not a match, put it side by side and tell me what Peter Obi is better than this Dave Umahi. You can’t be tackling counsel without knowledge. What we are saying is that it is not the turn of Igbos yet. I heard in today’s this thing one charlatan that was saying ‘oh no, the Igbos can never be president’. That can will not be alive when the Igbos become president because we will one day become president but it is not yet our turn, it is the turn of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Umahi said.
His comments come amid renewed political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Obi emerging as a leading figure in the opposition and Umahi remaining a prominent member of the Tinubu administration.
On the Benin-Asaba Road, Umahi said the Federal Government had decided to intervene in the reconstruction of the 136-kilometre highway after efforts to continue the existing concession arrangement failed.
He said Tinubu had directed that the dualisation project be redesigned with reinforced concrete pavement, while immediate work would begin on the Benin Bypass.
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