2027: Obi Is Nobody – Umahi Says There Is No Presidential Candidate in South-East

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed the presidential ambition of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, describing him as “nobody.”

The minister also declared that the South-East has no credible presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.

Umahi said Obi was not superior to several prominent political figures from Ebonyi State, including himself, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, former Minister of Education Sam Egwu and former Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Elias Mbam.

The former Ebonyi State governor urged residents of the South-East to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, arguing that the region would stand a better chance of producing a president in the future through strategic political alliances rather than sentiments and political confrontations.

He made the remarks on Sunday during a town hall meeting in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital. The meeting was organised by the Directorate of Infrastructure, Mobilisation and Sensitisation of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.

Umahi also called on religious and traditional leaders in the South-East to openly declare their support for Tinubu rather than remain neutral ahead of the election.

Addressing the gathering, the minister argued that it would be difficult for the North to accept a situation in which the South-East produced a president who served only one four-year term.

“There is no way an Igbo man, after staying for 60 years, will want to be President for four years. There is nobody that can accept that. The North has not accepted to be President for four years,” he said.

Umahi’s comments appeared to be a reference to Obi’s promise to serve only one term of four years if elected president in 2027.

The former Anambra governor has maintained that he would prioritise national development and hand over power in 2031, when he believes it would be the North’s turn to produce the president.

However, Umahi argued that the South-East needed political wisdom and strategic alliances rather than relying on emotional appeals or attacks against political opponents.

“Igbo man needs wisdom, not sentiments. Igbo man should not allow people to be dishing hate speeches on social media on their behalf,” he said.

He also defended the Tinubu administration, claiming that the South-East had become more politically integrated under the current government.

According to him, the region had benefited from appointments into key government positions, including the offices of Minister of Works and Chief of the Air Staff.

“Today, our people in Commerce, we clear our goods with ease. Today, our roads are being revived in the path of economic activities. Today, we can boldly say we have been integrated,” Umahi stated.

He added, “The last time there was choosing of service chiefs, it was Naval Chief. This time, it is Chief of Air Staff, Minister of Works, other ministers, SSAs, what else? When I say South-East have been fully integrated and included, I mean it.”

The minister insisted that supporting Tinubu for another four years would help the South-East build political relationships with other regions and strengthen its chances of securing the presidency when the opportunity arose.

“My mouth will not shut up because I am telling our people for a reference for tomorrow. We are supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to finish his remaining four years so that the South-East would have strategically supported another region. So that when it is our turn, we will not get this thing by hate speeches, they will not give to us by sentiments. It is strategic,” he said.

Umahi also criticised supporters of Obi, accusing them of attacking anyone who disagreed with the former governor’s presidential ambition.

He questioned why Obi should be regarded as more qualified than other prominent political figures from the South-East.

“You insult anybody that is not supporting Peter Obi. Anybody that is not supporting Peter Obi is a saboteur, you insult the person. Who is Peter Obi better than, who is here better than? Is he better than Sam Egwu? Is he better than Elias Mbam? Is he better than the Lion of South-East, myself? Is he better than Anyim Pius? Who is here better than?” he asked.

Umahi subsequently declared that the South-East had no presidential candidate for the 2027 election, despite Obi’s emergence as the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

“So, I don’t want us to be deceiving ourselves. We don’t have any presidential candidate in South-East. We have people that are vying. Ebonyi has a right to make a choice,” he said.

He urged traditional rulers and religious leaders to guide residents on the political direction they should take ahead of the election.

The minister also pledged to mobilise 1.3 million votes for Tinubu and Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru in the 2027 general election.

Umahi said Ebonyi had approximately 1.8 million registered voters and argued that the state should deliver a significant proportion of its votes to the APC candidates.

“We have 1.8 million registered voters in Ebonyi State. Let me tell you, if we are not donating 1.3 million votes for the President, for the governor, we are doing ourselves a disservice,” he said.

Obi, the presidential candidate of the NDC, recently declared that he possessed the experience, competence and capacity required to address Nigeria’s challenges, placing himself ahead of Tinubu and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

He made the declaration during a town hall meeting in Owerri, Imo State, where he also interacted with traders and other residents about the country’s economic situation.

The former governor criticised Tinubu’s administration over rising poverty, hunger, insecurity and public debt. He also questioned the President’s frequent foreign trips, claiming that Tinubu had spent more than 260 days outside Nigeria without spending a night in Imo State since assuming office.

Obi further claimed that more than 140 million Nigerians were living in multidimensional poverty, while approximately 18 million children were out of school.

Despite the challenges, he urged Nigerians to remain hopeful, promising that his proposed administration would prioritise security, national unity, healthcare, education and poverty reduction.

He also called on his supporters to protect their votes during the 2027 elections, urging them to remain at polling units until final results were announced.

“Among the leading contenders, we believe we possess the experience, competence, capacity, commitment and readiness required to undertake the difficult but necessary task of turning Nigeria around,” Obi said.