Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has said the developmental strides of President Bola Tinubu in the South East region have endeared him to the people of the zone and will attract massive votes for him at the 2027 general election.
Umahi made the assertion at his country home in Uburu, Ohaozara local government area of Ebonyi State, when he received various political, religious and community groups who paid him a Christmas homage.
He enumerated sone of the developmental strides to include the Second Niger Bridge, the Enugu–Onitsha (Nnewi) Road, the Owerri–Aba Road, and other major highways across the region describing them as tangible achievements of the present administration.
“We are talking about real projects, not social media sentiments. The road to Onitsha is Biafra. The Second Niger Bridge is Biafra. These are the Biafra we are looking for — not the Biafra of sentiments or social media,” he said.
He insisted that the region’s interests are better secured through strategy, unity and constructive engagement rather than sentiments.
He maintained that the Southeast has no reason to deceive itself about its political choices, stressing that President Tinubu has demonstrated commitment to the development of the region through major infrastructure projects.
“You ask me what the President has done for the Southeast, and I will tell you what he has done for the Southeast. Nigeria is built on a tripod and it will be wrong to weaken one leg of the nation.”
He noted that the Southeast has been marginalized historically but argued that such marginalization can only be addressed through wisdom, political strategy and national engagement.
“We can never win by sentiments. We can never win by hate. We can only win by strategy.When it is our turn to become President, we must be wise enough to position ourselves.”
The minister called on Southeast people across the country to obey the laws and cultures of their host communities, urging them to remain humble, courageous and law-abiding wherever they reside.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us. Nobody should intimidate us, but we must also respect the culture and laws of wherever we find ourselves,” he added.
Umahi assured his visitors that the Southeast is now more included at the federal level and urged the region to reciprocate the current administration’s gestures with massive electoral support.
“Our votes will not be wasted on sentiments again. The Southeast will be strategic, and the Southeast will vote massively for President Tinubu,” he declared.
