Umahi Says It Is Not Yet Time for South-East Presidency

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said it is not yet the turn of the South-East to produce Nigeria’s president, while insisting that the region would eventually occupy the country’s highest political office.

Umahi made the statement on Thursday during a Federal Government press briefing on the Benin-Asaba Road in Benin City, Edo State.

The minister was responding to discussions surrounding the presidential ambition of former Anambra State governor and Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, candidate, Peter Obi.

Umahi said the South-East would eventually produce a president but argued that the current political arrangement did not favour the region’s emergence in 2027.

“What we are saying is that it is not the turn of Igbos yet,” he said.

The minister also rejected comparisons between himself and Obi, challenging those who consider the former Anambra governor superior to him to compare their records.

He said such comparisons should take into consideration their family backgrounds, intellectual capacity, contributions to the South-East and records as governors.

Umahi, who served as governor of Ebonyi State before joining the Federal Executive Council, said political assessments should be based on verifiable records rather than assumptions.

He also dismissed the suggestion that the Igbo could never produce Nigeria’s president, maintaining that the region would eventually have the opportunity to occupy the presidency.

The minister’s comments come amid increasing debate over regional representation and zoning ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with political actors expressing different positions on which part of the country should produce the next president.

Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election, is currently the NDC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 poll, while President Bola Tinubu is seeking re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Umahi’s position adds to the ongoing political debate over zoning, regional rotation and the competing presidential ambitions ahead of the 2027 general elections.