The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Labour Party, and several other political groups criticised the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, over his appeal for the South-East to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
According to The Punch, Umahi, in a statement released on Monday, had called on the South-East to rally behind President Tinubu, arguing that doing so would serve the long-term interest of the Igbo people. He was reported to have said that the region must not be misled again and stressed that the President needed to secure up to 90 per cent of the South-East’s votes in order to strengthen the relationship between the region and the presidency.
Umahi was also said to have called for an end to what he described as “darkening counsel without knowledge” within the South-East, urging the region to take up the responsibility of educating its people. He maintained that if the Igbo people truly aspired to produce a president in the future, they must move away from what he referred to as “the politics of hate, misinformation, and sentiments.”
He reportedly emphasised that the South-East must start showing political support to other regions, expressing belief that such gestures would eventually be returned in kind.
Umahi was also quoted as insisting that President Tinubu deserved the support of the region to complete his constitutionally permitted eight-year tenure, which, according to him, was already yielding benefits for all parts of the country. He maintained that the presidency would come to the South-East eventually, but not in 2027.
He further pledged to continue resisting any attempts to mislead the Igbo people, asserting that they were traditionally known for their industriousness and love, rather than for hatred.
While he was reacting to Umahi’s statement, the spokesperson of the Senator Nenadi Usman-led national leadership, Mr. Ken Asogwa, criticized the minister, describing his comments as both self-serving and provocative. Asogwa maintained that Engr. Dave Umahi ought to be ashamed of himself for making such a remark.
Further talking talking, he said, “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.”
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