2027: No opposition gang-up can stop Tinubu’s re-election, says Umahi
Works Minister David Umahi has said opposition gang-up cannot stop the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu next year. The minister challenged the Southeast leaders to be bold enough to
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Works Minister David Umahi has said opposition gang-up cannot stop the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu next year.
The minister challenged the Southeast leaders to be bold enough to tell the people about the good job the President has done in the zone.
He described President Tinubu as God’s gift to the region, saying its people have no reason to complain in view of the massive development being witnessed across the zone.
Umahi spoke during the opening of Eke Obinagu-Emene flyover as part of measures to ease traffic during the Easter celebration.
Umahi also opened the Kilometre 15 Enugu-Onitsha Expressway from Abakpa junction through Ugwu Onyeama Hill to the Ninth Mile.
The minister directed that all failed asphalt sections of the road be reviewed.
He also directed full solar lights from Enugu to the Onitsha Expressway.
Umahi said he had directed that trees br planted from Enugu to Onitsha.
He sid: “That’s the gift of Mr. President to the Southeast. He will do more for us.
“God has spoken to me that His mighty hands are upon President Bola Tinubu. It’s important for our people to be strategic.
“We won’t mount the seat of the President by using foul language or mere wish. Otherwise, nobody will give it to us. Whatever I tell you, go and write it down because it will come to pass. No matter who is on the presidential ticket, the Southeast must be wise.
“The marginalisation we’re talking about is over. For the first time, we’re at the helm of affairs. For the first time, your son is Minister of Works. We also have two service chiefs in this administration.
“As we’re developing other regions, the Southeast is not left behind. We have no reason to be bitter. Yes, the Southeast deserves to produce the President, but we need to support the incumbent to get ours.
“I’m bold to say that all the Southeast governors are supporting President Bola Tinubu. But we have to trickle it down to our supporters. I want our leader, the Imo State governor, to charge all the Southeast leaders to be very vocal about supporting Mr. President.
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“I want to plead with the Southeast leaders to be bold in convincing our people on the need to vote for Mr. President. If, as a leader in Southeast, you’re not vocal in the declaration, then you’re not for us.
“Let them know what the President has done for us. Let them know that if we appreciate him for the ones he’s done, he’ll do more for the region. Governance is about development, infrastructure, fairness, equity and justice.
“We can’t afford to give him anything less than 80 per cent. Do that and leave the rest for us. We’ll boldly go to the negotiation table.
“Let nobody split our votes; let nobody mislead us. I was shouting it in 2023 while I was the governor: prepare the way of the Lord. This time, I’m shouting: be strategic in voting for President Bola Tinubu.
“The same way you understood your son being the minister, same way you need to understand our being strategic.”
Umahi recalled the deplorable condition of the road prior to the current administration.
The minister noted that commuters previously spent over seven hours travelling between Enugu and Onitsha due to years of neglect and stalled construction.
“This is the most important route in the Southeast,” he said.
According to him, the project had been awarded long before 2023 but remained largely abandoned for about eight years with little or no meaningful progress.
Umahi also recalled that the road was initially being handled under a tax credit arrangement involving MTN and a construction firm, RCC.
The minister said the project suffered delays until the intervention of President Tinubu, who he said ordered its acceleration and a redesign of critical sections of the project.
He explained that the Federal Government reviewed the original N202 billion contract, retaining a part of it while carving out a 72-kilometre stretch for reconstruction using reinforced concrete pavement.
The new section, valued at about N150 billion, is being executed to ensure higher durability standards similar to those used on the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway.
In total, the minister said, the full reconstruction of the Enugu–Onitsha road is now valued at over N350 billion.
Highlighting the progress made so far, the minister announced that the first 15 kilometres of the reinforced concrete section had reached about 97 per cent completion and had been opened to traffic to ease movement during the Easter period.
He added that another 18-kilometre stretch is under construction towards Anambra State, while a separate 39-kilometre segment extending from the Niger Bridge axis is also ongoing.
Umahi said contractors handling asphalt portions of the road had been directed to adopt the same concrete standard for the remaining 23 kilometres, citing the longer lifespan and minimal maintenance requirements of concrete roads compared to asphalt.
He said: “Asphalt fails over time, but concrete can last between 50 and 100 years with little or no maintenance.”
The minister stated that upon completion, at least 50 per cent of the highway would be built with reinforced concrete, significantly improving durability and reducing long-term costs.
He listed ongoing projects in the Southeast to include sections of the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway, with parts already nearing completion, and the dualisation of the Enugu–Abakaliki road.
He said work was ongoing on the Afikpo–Abia–Okigwe corridor under a tax credit scheme, as well as major upgrades to the Aba–Port Harcourt road.
The minister announced that access roads and bypasses connected to the Second Niger Bridge are also under construction, alongside several flyovers and interchanges, including what he called one of the longest flyovers in the country, located in the region.
Umahi said previously collapsed bridges in the Enugu–Port Harcourt axis had been rebuilt within months and equipped with solar-powered lighting as part of a broader plan to illuminate major highways.
Umahi also referenced large-scale national projects, such as the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway and a proposed corridor linking Calabar through Ebonyi and Benue states to Abuja. The project, the minister said, would cut travel time between the Southeast and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
answering questions on the concerns that reporters raised about alleged abandoned projects, the minister insisted that work was ongoing across multiple sites.
He urged the public to rely on verified information.
“Projects are not abandoned. You need to visit these sites. Many of them are progressing steadily,” he said.
Explaining what was going on about rail infrastructure, Umahi said the proposed eastern rail corridor linking Port Harcourt to Maiduguri falls under the Ministry of Transport, adding that procurement processes are ongoing.
