Minister of Works David Umahi says the South-East zone must exercise patience in its quest for Nigeria’s presidency, declaring that it is not yet its turn to produce the country’s next leader.

Mr Umahi, in an interview with journalists on Sunday in Abuja, emphasised the need for political fairness and continuity in 2027, referencing the work that President Bola Tinubu had been doing since 2023.

“No, it is not our time; it is not the time of South-East yet,” said Mr Umahi. “We, the 17 southern governors, went to Asaba before 2023, and we went to say, listen, it doesn’t matter the political party, but the next president should come from the south.”

The minister and former governor said that even though the South-Easterners also wanted to be president in 2023, Mr Tinubu won, and so, “it is wrong for the South-East to come and say it is their turn.”

Mr Umahi maintained that Mr Tinubu must serve two terms before South-Easterners can vie for the presidency. He added that the North-East could also join in 2031 because the zone had not produced a president before.

“No, he (Tinubu) has to finish the eight years. The eight years he took is for all of us, both the South and the North. So he has to finish, and when he has finished in 2031, the South-East can now vie, in the sense that they have never tasted the position before.

“So for me, it is not the time (of the South-East). And when the time comes, we have sons and daughters that are eminently qualified (to contest for president),” he said.

Mr Umahi said there are people who are “very eminently qualified and better” than those who are clamouring for it now.

The minister, however, admitted that the South-East had suffered some measure of marginalisation in the past, stating that that was why it was very difficult for some governors like him to deliver the zone for the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general elections.

APC performed poorly in 2023 in the South-East, with the entire zone delivering a paltry 5.85 per cent of the total votes to the party.

Mr Umahi attributed the situation to what he called unfair treatment of the South-East people in the past, adding, “But right now, President Bola Tinubu does not want to know where you come from. He is treating everybody very nicely.

“The South-East might say they did not get a lot of appointments, but the position of the Minister of Works is equivalent to five grade A ministers.

“The question is that there was a time we (South-East) had all sorts of appointments. Did it translate into infrastructure development? The answer is no.”

He said that with the few appointments from the South-East, there are infrastructure projects, including the Enugu–Onitsha road project and a 35-kilometre second access route in Anambra State.

Although the minister admitted there had been some “little challenges” in funding, he said the ministry had convinced the contractors that they would be paid and should return to the site.

He highlighted other roads currently being constructed in the zone, including the Port Harcourt-Aba road (86 kilometres), the Aba-Umuahia road (56 kilometres by two), Umuahia-Lokpanta road (six kilometres), and Lokpanta-Enugu road (61 kilometres by two), worth over N100 billion.

Mr Umahi also mentioned the Enugu dualisation to Abakaliki, which is N183 billion, as well as the Trans-Sahara road from Ebonyi to the Benue boundary, which he put at N456 billion.

Mr Umahi added he could beat his chest about what Mr Tinubu had done for the South-East in the last two years.

(NAN)