Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has called on governors in the Southeast to rally behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election as a show of appreciation for his administration’s support for the region’s infrastructure.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony for the Second Niger Bridge, which will link Delta and Anambra states, Umahi lauded the work that the Tinubu administration had carried out in the South-East, listing various projects that he said had been flagged of and underway, and that the people of the South East should, in appreciation, show appreciation for Tinubu.
He said, “We owe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu three things. One is to pray for him and his government. As you are praying for him, you also pray for the governor. If you pray six days, the seventh day, you join me, you put me for the prayer.
“The second one is to support him. If there are our brothers that are disgruntled, that are criticising, we must say no, they don’t represent us.
“And I thank Ndi Igbo, when there was a demonstration, the last one, the entire Igbos, whether in Nigeria or outside Nigeria, they aid no, we didn’t demonstrate again. We have woken up to support the central government, and we have been reintegrated into the central government, and we are benefiting.
“So, we have to support the President. And in 2027, every governor in Southeast must show appreciation to the president so that we have only one presidential candidate. That is payback time. We are not yet campaigning, but we are giving information to the people.”
Further elaborating on the current developments, Umahi highlighted various infrastructural projects underway, stressing that these efforts are a demonstration of Tinubu’s commitment to the region.
He noted, “We have finished from Ore to Benin. But from the Lagos interchange down to Ore is a nightmare. And from Benin down to Asaba, down to the old Niger Bridge, the first one, is a nightmare. But the story has changed under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The contract for the Shagamu interchange, going to Ore, it’s been awarded, and it has been paid for 30% by the President, work is ongoing.
“And then you now get to Benin. Just the day before yesterday, we were in Benin to flag off the 125 kilometre by two, that is from Benin, coming all the way to Asaba – 250 kilometres. It’s been flagged off, work is ongoing, you will see litany of equipment, you know, all over the entire route. And then you now come to Asaba, the summit junction, that’s where that road stops. You still have nine kilometres that is going to take us all the way to the second Niger Bridge and first Niger Bridge. We have directed that work will commence there within the next two weeks. And this stretch is going to have CCTV cameras, it’s going to have solar lights, all through. So our people from Lagos down to Asaba, down to Onitsha, we have great, you know, fresh air to breathe.
“And it’s not stopping there. We’ve also awarded the dualisation of Onitsha to Owerri. And then the ongoing project of Port Harcourt to Enugu is there. So we have seamless journey all the way from Lagos.
“And so this project we are doing today is such that from Shagamu, you know, down to Enugu, we do not want the traffic jam within the town. And so, the president thought it, in his usual, you know, courage and smartness to do a bypass. Yesterday, we flagged it off at Asaba, and that bypass is going to take us out of Asaba as we are coming from Benin to Asaba.”
Listing further ongoing projects, Umahi said, “I want to tell you that the 256 kilometres of road from Makurdi to 9th Mile is ongoing. It’s a billion dollar project. It’s ongoing, it’s dualisation. It’s stopping at South East. I want to tell you that Port-Harcourt-Enugu is ongoing. There are four sections there that are all ongoing. I want to tell you that the Enugu-Abakaliki dualisation is ongoing. I want to tell you that we have flyover that is being built at Enugu. We have the two bridges that were destroyed and it’s been totally reconstructed at the Enugu section there.”
He then urged Southeast leaders to consider the political and economic benefits of their choices, stressing that leadership should prioritise collective progress.
“When you are talking you have to weigh what you are saying. Will it be beneficial to my people? Will it help my people? Will it secure my people? That is how to be a leader of the people. Not just to be looking for something for yourself,” he said.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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