The Peoples Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress, Labour Party, and others have criticised the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, for urging the South-East to back President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
In a statement on Monday, Umahi had appealed to the South-East to support Tinubu, claiming it would serve the long-term interest of the Igbo people.
The statement said, “We must not be deceived again. Mr President must have the votes of the Southeast up to 90 per cent to cement this relationship. Enough of darkening counsel without knowledge in the South-East.
“We must rise to educate our people. If we want to be president, we must avoid the politics of hate, misinformation, and sentiments.
“We must support other regions, and with God, one day, other regions will support us. Mr President must be supported to complete his tenure of eight years, which all regions are benefiting from.
“One day, we will be number one, but not in 2027. I will vocally continue to stand against any mischief to deceive our people. We are known for hard work and love, and not hate.”
Reacting to Umahi’s remark, spokesperson of the Senator Nenadi Usman-led national leadership, Mr Ken Asogwa, described the minister’s statement as self-serving.
He said, “Engr Dave Umahi ought to be ashamed of himself for his provocative and self-serving statement.
“In 2022, when he declared his intention to contest the presidential ticket of the APC, he anchored his ambition on the argument that it was the turn of the South-East to produce the President.
“Fast forward to 2027, that same region is suddenly no longer “ripe” for the Presidency, simply because Umahi now wants to protect his position as a minister in President Tinubu’s cabinet.
“My simple question to Umahi is: What exactly has changed between 2023 and now?
“While Umahi may not have mentioned any names in his recent statement, his jaundiced appeal to the South East is driven by fear – fear of the growing momentum behind the imminent emergence of Peter Obi as a formidable candidate from the region.
“But Umahi must come to terms with the reality that Peter Obi is no longer just a South-East phenomenon; he has become a national brand whose appeal cuts across the six geopolitical zones of this country.”
Asogwa added that if Umahi felt so strongly about canvassing support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, he should boldly take his message to Kano, or any other state in the North-West, where Peter Obi has practically become a household name.
The PDP Deputy National Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha, said Umahi was not sincere in his remarks.
Speaking exclusively to The PUNCH, Osuoha said the minister was merely expressing the position of his party and not speaking on behalf of the South-East or Nigerians at large.
The PDP leader, who also hails from the South-East, stated, “It is wrong for Umahi to make that statement because he is speaking for himself.
“He is a member of the APC and not of the PDP or any other political party in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is a plural state with many political parties, and we are all citizens entitled to equal rights.
“The Constitution of Nigeria, Section 42, clearly provides that no citizen should be discriminated against based on tribe, religion, or circumstances of birth.”
Osuoha said Umahi was not the mouthpiece of the South-East, adding that he was only expressing his personal views as an APC member trying to serve the interest of his political mentor.
“He cannot speak for the entire Southeast, and he cannot speak for Nigerians.
“In fact, he is not sincere with Nigerians, because if he is, he won’t ask them to support failure.
“As a party, the PDP has its own zoning formula clearly outlined in our constitution.
“At the 101st NEC meeting, we constituted our zoning committee, which will conduct the zoning process in line with the party’s constitution.
“According to our established practice, if the national chairman comes from the North, the presidential ticket will be zoned to the South, and vice versa.
“At the upcoming national convention scheduled for November in Ibadan, we will finalise the zoning of positions,” he said.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, described Umahi’s comment as self-serving and politically motivated.
He stated, “It is a divisive and insincere statement because it reveals the hypocrisy in their argument about power remaining in the South.
“When they say power should stay in the South, it is actually a dubious claim. They don’t truly mean it.
“What they are really saying is that President Tinubu should be allowed to continue in office. So all the talk about power rotation is just a cover — what they want is for power to remain in the hands of their preferred candidate for another four years. This clearly shows how insincere they are.”
Also speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Ladipo Johnson, said Nigerians should be allowed the freedom to make their choice come 2027, even as he described Umahi’s statement as “a usual thing in politics.”
He said, “It is the usual thing in politics. He has queued behind President Tinubu, and he believes that his kith and kin should do the same.
“But what does he want to do with leaders like Peter Obi and other South-East politicians who do not believe the government of Tinubu is going in the right direction?
“It is a democracy, and as such, the voices of those who have a different opinion to express should not be stifled. He is within his rights to call for anything; it is left to the people of the South-East to make their decision,” he said.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Chekwas Okorie, said Umahi’s outing was simply to promote the interest of the ruling All Progressives Congress and should be seen in that light.
“Dave Umahi is a politician and a hardworking minister that I have tremendous respect for, but in this matter, I can only be charitable by saying that what he said is based on partisan interest.
“He’s trying to promote his party. It was Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe who stated it repeatedly while he was alive that the only thing that is permanent in politics is interest.
“It may either be group interest or personal interest. In politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, but permanent interests.
“He is promoting the interest of the party he belongs to, but at the end of the day, it is beyond saying.
“Right now, they are facing governance, but he has a job to do to convince the people that President Tinubu’s continued stay in office will be in the interest of the South-East in the future, as he said. He should also tell us how much our interest has been even now,” Okorie stated.
A South-East chieftain and the National Chairman, National Rescue Mission, Edozie Njoku, urged caution, noting that it was not yet time for political campaigns.
Njoku said, “We should not overblow this. What he (Umahi) said is his interest. The entire South-East will decide if what he is saying is in order.
“Where is he coming from? We have not even started campaigns yet, and he is making such a statement.
“On what basis is he saying that? We should take seriously the challenges that are coming our way in 2027, because if we don’t, we will be unprepared before the dancing starts.
“He is saying his own. He is a minister in Tinubu’s government. What did you expect him to say?”
The Speaker of the Igbo Youth Parliament, Rikki Nwajiofor, justified Umahi’s call, stressing that the Tinubu government had been good to the South-East since it came on board in 2023.
When asked if the likes of Peter Obi and other potential presidential aspirants of South-East extraction should wait after 2027, Rikki said, “Yes.”
He said, “Honestly, President Tinubu has favoured Ndigbo within the two years of his administration. We are fully in support of his re-election, and we shall vigorously campaign for him.”
In a related development, APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, stated that President Tinubu had the backing of Nigerians nationwide.
He added that, given the President’s notable accomplishments across the country, every geopolitical zone, including the South-East, should support his re-election bid.
Ibrahim stated, “President Tinubu is doing a lot and is delivering on all the Renewed Hope promises to Nigerians.
“He enjoys the support of the South-East and most Nigerians. With his performance, every geopolitical zone, including the South-East, should support his re-election.
“That is exactly what is happening, and that is why the APC will win the 2027 elections.”
