David Umahi, minister of works, says the south-east should support President Bola Tinubu with 80 percent of the region’s votes in the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi spoke on Thursday during the inauguration of the completed section of the Enugu–Onitsha expressway.
Answering questions from journalists during the event, the minister said the project was initially awarded under a tax credit arrangement involving MTN Nigeria and executed by Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Limited.
He relayed that the project was on a standstill before 2023 and that it took the president’s intervention for it to continue.
“The project was awarded before the coming of President Tinubu with no meaningful progress made,” the minister was quoted as saying in a statement shared by Francis Nwaze, his senior special assistant on media.
“We reviewed it and allowed MTN to continue with their contract sum excluding 72km.
It takes a lot of courage to do what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing. The entire road is being reconstructed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The first 50km of reinforced concrete pavement is about 97% completed but the President directed me to come and open the road so that the people of the south-east will not suffer during the Easter period and that is why I am here to open the first 15km of the road.”
Umahi said the Tinubu administration is constructing multiple road projects in the south-east as part of a plan to connect the zone with other parts of the country.
He added that the south-east must be strategic in 2027 by going with Tinubu.
The former Ebonyi governor said the conversation on marginalisation of the south-east is waning due to the calibre of appointees by Tinubu and federal government projects in the region.
When I boldly say that the Biafra we are looking for is here and that’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the minister said.
“In 2027, the people of south-east must be very strategic. We want these projects to be completed.
“God already told me, you know this is David, the only man that is both Priest and king. And God has told me that President Tinubu will win again, he will win again.
“It’s important that our people are strategic. We will not mount the seat of presidency by foul language, by mere wish, nobody will give it to us. We have to be strategic.
I will not stop telling the south-east, no matter who has the presidential ticket of other political parties, south-east people must be strategic to support the president.
“We should not be aiming to give him anything less than 80 percent. Do that and leave the rest for us. We will boldly go to negotiation table.
“Let nobody split our votes. Let nobody mislead us.
“The marginalization we are talking about, it’s over. For the first time, your son is minister of works.
I want to plead with leaders of south-east, we need to be vocal in telling the people what the president is doing for us. No more marginalization.”
In the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, a former Anambra governor, garnered 89.6 percent of south-east votes; with Tinubu scoring 5.8 percent votes in the region. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar received 4.2 percent of south-east votes during the poll.
