David Umahi, Minister of Works, has stated that the South-East zone must be patient in its bid for Nigeria’s president, claiming that it is not yet its turn to deliver the country’s next leader.
Umahi said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja.
He underlined the importance of political justice and continuity in 2027, citing the wonderful work that President Bola Tinubu has done since taking 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 Southeast to come and say, Oh, it is their turn.
“No, he (Tinubu) has to finish the eight years. The eight years he took are 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 can now 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 persons who are far more competent and capable than those who are now vying for the position.
The minister, on the other hand, conceded that the south-east had previously been marginalized, which made it difficult for governors like him to deliver the zone for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections.
According to NAN, the APC performed poorly in the south-east in 2023, with the party receiving only 5.85 percent of the zone’s total votes.
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Umahi blamed the situation on what he called unfair treatment of 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 southeast 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 (southeast) 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 southeast.
“Yesterday, 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 Umahi agreed that there had been some ‘small issues’ in funding, he stated that the contractors had been convinced by the ministry that they would be paid, and so they should return to the site.
He mentioned other highways now being built in the zone, such as the Port Harcourt-Aba road (86 kilometers), the Aba-Umuahia road (56 kilometers by two), the Umuahia-Lokpanta road (six kilometers), and the Lokpanta-Enugu road (61 kilometers by two), all worth more than N100 billion.
He also listed the Enugu-Abakaliki dualisation, which costs N183 billion, and the Trans-Sahara route from Ebonyi to Benue, which costs N456 billion.
“If the president is doing from Afigbo to Uturu and down to Okigwe, which is cutting through Ebonyi-Abia and Imo for N193 billion by Dangote tax credits.
“If he connects our bridge between Cross River and Ebonyi along Afikpo’s axis, or between Ebonyi and Aduferegbe’s axis.
“Is it the Abakpa flyover that the president is doing? Is it the flyover to Obinago? Is it the two bridges within Enugu that failed in the 2023 flood, and the president is doing it?
“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,” Umahi said.
According to him, while the southeast can compete favorably with other zones and its inhabitants can brag about it, they must be extremely sensitive to the circumstances on the ground.
“Yes, acknowledge the past, but let us also emphasise on the realities of what is happening now,” Umahi said.
Umahi claimed that he could brag about what Tinubu has accomplished 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.”
