The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has declared that the South-East's quest for the Nigerian presidency should be put on hold until after 2027, urging the zone to support President Bola Tinubu for a second term.
In an interview on Sunday, the former Ebonyi State governor stated that it was not yet the turn of the South-East to produce the country's leader.
"No, it is not our time; it is not the time of South-East yet," Umahi said.
He referenced a pre-2023 agreement among the 17 southern governors that the presidency should shift to the South, a resolution that culminated in President Tinubu's victory.
"He is from the South and so, it is wrong for the south-east to come and say, oh, it is their turn," the minister explained.
"No, he (Tinubu) has to finish the eight years. The eight years he took is for all of us, both the South and the North."
According to Umahi, after President Tinubu's potential second term ends in 2031, the political space would then be open for regions that have not held the office.
“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,” he added.
Umahi acknowledged that the South-East has suffered from past marginalisation, but argued that Tinubu has been good to the South-East.
To support his claim, he listed road projects underway in the region, including:
- The N350 billion Enugu-Onitsha road project.
- The N174 billion second access route in Anambra.
- Over N100 billion for the Port Harcourt-Aba-Umuahia-Enugu road corridor.
- The N183 billion dualization of the Enugu-Abakaliki road.
- The N456 billion Trans-Sahara road connecting Ebonyi to the Benue boundary.
- The N193 billion Afikpo-Okigwe road funded by Dangote tax credits.
"We have no reason not to be grateful to the president," Umahi concluded. "We should be clapping with our hands and legs for President Bola Tinubu... Yes, acknowledge the past, but let us also emphasise on the realities of what is happening now."
