The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has said the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, does not pose a threat to President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, noting that Obi is not the only presidential aspirant from the South-East.
“By the way it is not only Peter Obi that is from the South-East that is contesting. We have about three or four other presidential candidates who are contesting.
“We have the Labour Party and I think there are other two, even a woman is involved. So, Peter Obi is not a threat as far as I am concerned,” Umahi said.
The minister, however, said he was not underestimating the former Anambra State governor, adding that the APC’s record in government would help attract voters in the South-East.
In the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, who contested under the Labour Party (LP) then, swept all five states of the region.
With months left to the 2027 election, Umahi expressed confidence that Tinubu will win all states in the South-East, citing marginalisation of the region as the reason for the failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.
According to him, however, Tinubu has corrected that.
“I will not blame the South-East in the last election because, virtually, we were not fairly treated by the past administration. Service chiefs, we got none; major ministerial portfolios, we got none. And so, the marginalisation continued, and they even increased at that point. And so you will not totally blame them for that,” the former Ebonyi governor said.
“But now, the story is totally different. I’m the Minister of Works; we have never had a Minister of Works before. We have a Minister of Foreign Affairs; we have a Minister of Science and Industry. We are very happy with the appointments we’ve got. They’re very happy. Now, we have done quite a lot.
Umahi’s comments come as political parties and candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 presidential election.