The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has declared that Peter Obi can by no means be thought-about the South-East’s finest presidential candidate, arguing that the area has different certified political figures able to main Nigeria.
Umahi made the remarks throughout an interview with ARISE News on Friday whereas defending South-East political leaders supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid forward of the 2027 presidential election.
The former Ebonyi State governor criticised Obi for allegedly pursuing his presidential bid with out consulting governors and different influential political stakeholders within the South-East.
“Peter Obi is not the best of our finest in South-East. He’s not the best; he can never be the best,” Umahi mentioned.
He argued that presidential aspirants looking for to signify the area ought to first seek the advice of its political leaders, insisting that such an ambition shouldn’t be pursued with out participating key stakeholders.
“You cannot play politics in South-East without consulting people like us,” he mentioned.
The minister added that he would have consulted regional leaders if he had determined to contest the presidency, stressing that an ambition introduced as representing a complete area required broader political consensus.
“If I were contesting, I would have consulted,” Umahi mentioned.
The minister additionally rejected the suggestion that Anambra State ought to robotically produce Nigeria’s president if the South-East is allowed to carry the place.
Referring to Nigeria’s first president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, who hailed from what’s now Anambra State, Umahi argued that different states within the area must also be thought-about.
He particularly named Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Imo as states that ought to function in discussions in regards to the South-East’s presidential ambition.
“Others are doing 8yrs, but Peter Obi decided that Igbos should do just 4yrs. Who in the South-East reached that agreement with him? Nobody did. Even if South-East should produce President, it should come from Ebonyi State,” he mentioned.
The minister additionally rejected claims that South-East political leaders supporting Tinubu have been betraying the area due to their political decisions.
He maintained that the South-East’s prospects of manufacturing a Nigerian president trusted political negotiations, alliances and help from different areas, relatively than insisting that every one political leaders from the zone should rally behind a single candidate.
Although he expressed confidence that the South-East would ultimately produce Nigeria’s president, Umahi maintained that the area’s time had not but come.
“It is not yet our turn,” he mentioned.
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