The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will secure a second term in office in 2027, predicting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win all five states in the South-East.
Umahi made the prediction while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he said his confidence in Tinubu’s re-election was rooted in his belief that God brought the President into office at a difficult period in Nigeria’s history.
According to the minister, Tinubu assumed office amid significant economic and political challenges but had continued to take difficult decisions aimed at addressing the country’s problems.
“I have faith in God that the President will return because he came at a very challenging period. All manner of obstacles were thrown in his way, but power belongs to God,” Umahi said.
The former Ebonyi State governor also said his close working relationship with Tinubu had convinced him that the President had good intentions for the country.
“I have worked very closely with him. I have seen his good heart, I have seen his good intentions, and I’m telling you that the President has never asked me to give jobs to this or that person,” he said.
‘Tinubu will harvest votes in South-East’
Umahi expressed confidence that Tinubu would make significant gains in the South-East during the 2027 presidential election, saying his faith suggested that the APC could win all five states in the region.
“I will not tell you whether we will win the five votes of the Southeast or not, but the President is going to harvest a lot of votes in the Southeast. My faith is telling me we will win the five states,” he said.
In the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, who contested on the platform of the Labour Party, won all five South-East states. Umahi said the political situation had changed, arguing that the Tinubu administration had addressed concerns over the region’s representation in government.
He also dismissed the suggestion that Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), posed a threat to Tinubu and the APC in the region.
“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,” Umahi said.
He added that the region should move away from politics driven primarily by regional considerations.
“We shouldn’t play regional politics because it doesn’t help us. As a region, we should be able to have a handshake across the Niger,” he said.
Umahi defends Tinubu’s economic reforms
The minister also defended the economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, acknowledging that the policies had created hardship for many Nigerians, particularly vulnerable citizens.
However, he argued that the administration should be assessed by comparing the state of the economy when Tinubu assumed office with the situation under the current government, rather than focusing solely on the immediate impact of the reforms.
Umahi said the administration’s infrastructure programme was also designed to provide a foundation for long-term economic growth.
He disclosed that Tinubu inherited 2,068 projects valued at about N13 trillion when he assumed office in 2023.
According to the minister, about 80 per cent of the projects currently being executed by the Ministry of Works were inherited from the previous administration.
Umahi said Tinubu directed him not to abandon the inherited projects because many of them were located along major economic corridors.
Among the projects he listed were the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Road, Trans-Sahara corridor and Akwanga-Jos Road.
Umahi defends Lagos-Calabar highway
On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Umahi rejected allegations of wrongdoing surrounding the project and said he was prepared to take responsibility for the procurement process.
He said the first 47.47-kilometre section had been completed, while work on the second section was nearing completion.
Umahi said the legacy projects were being financed through an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing arrangement, with the Federal Government contributing 30 per cent and 70 per cent sourced through external financing.
He disclosed that Deutsche Bank provided financing for Section One of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, adding that the facility was oversubscribed by $100 million.
The minister has repeatedly defended the coastal highway against criticism over its cost, design and implementation. In August, he said work on the first lot had been completed and the second lot was more than 80 per cent complete at the time.
Umahi also expressed confidence that four major legacy road projects would be completed within the next three years “by God’s special grace.”
The minister’s comments come as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 general election, with the performance of the Tinubu administration and its prospects in the South-East expected to remain major issues in the campaigns.
