Minister of Works, David Umahi, has accused former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of pursuing the presidency at all costs, while insisting that the South-East region remains supportive of President Bola Tinubu.
Umahi made the remarks at the weekend during an inspection of Section 2 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Epe, Lagos State, according to a statement issued in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze.
The minister was reacting to reports circulating on social media alleging that Obi had promised to halt some of President Tinubu’s legacy infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, if elected president in 2027.
“He simply wants to become president by all means, and that is not good for our people. Let us know the truth. Deceit will not help us,” Umahi said.
It remains unclear whether Obi made the comments attributed to him. However, on May 1, 2024, the former Anambra State governor argued on his X account that the Federal Government should prioritise fixing existing roads across the country rather than embarking on new super-highway projects.
“This is a moment when a committed government cannot embark on non-essential projects. Existing highways urgently need maintenance, and insecurity makes travel unsafe. We cannot afford another expensive abandoned project. Nigeria’s urgent development needs are more real and essential. We do not need landscape decoration escapades,” Obi had stated.
Describing the reported position as disappointing, Umahi said he hoped Obi never made such remarks, but maintained that Nigerians would reject any attempt to discontinue projects designed to transform the nation’s economy.
“This project that someone is said to have promised to stop, and I hope he never said so, is highly innovative. I only saw it on social media. I have challenged the Obidient Movement to compare President Bola Tinubu’s record as governor of Lagos State with that of Peter Obi as governor of Anambra State.
“Let us see the master plans each of them created. Let us see the projects that lived beyond their tenure. Today, we are standing on the Coastal Highway, which shows the vision of President Bola Tinubu beyond his time as governor,” he said.
Umahi further disclosed that leaders in Ebonyi State had adopted Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We recently adopted President Tinubu in Ebonyi State. I will not stop speaking. I will not stop defending Nigerians and our people.
“I want everybody to know that Ebonyi is not for the Obidient Movement. Our loyalty is to President Bola Tinubu, and so is that of the entire South-East. People will see it. Mark my words,” he stated.
The former Ebonyi governor also accused Obi of not being forthright about issues relating to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
According to him, political leaders should take responsibility for their past actions and statements, particularly on matters affecting the South-East.
“I know his position on IPOB. I know the disagreement between him and Nnamdi Kanu. I know his feelings and the actions he took, which he was entitled to take. But he should be man enough to own those actions and not come before Nigerians and say this man did not say anything,” Umahi said.
He also criticised Obi for allegedly failing to speak out against the Monday sit-at-home order in the South-East, which he said had negatively affected lives and economic activities in the region.
“Nobody should joke with the thousands of South-East people who were killed in the process. He has not been honest with our people. People sit at home every Monday, and he has not spoken against it,” he alleged.
Umahi stressed that leaders across the South-East have continued to pursue peace and political solutions to challenges facing the region.
