The minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will secure re-election in 2027 and predicted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win all five states in the Southeast.

Umahi stated this when he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he said his confidence in Tinubu’s return was rooted in his belief that God brought the president into office at a difficult period in the country’s history.

According to the minister, Tinubu assumed office amid numerous challenges and obstacles but had continued to make difficult decisions aimed at addressing Nigeria’s economic problems.

“I have faith in God that the President will return because he came at a very challenging period. All manner of obstacles were thrown in his way, but power belongs to God,” Umahi said.

He said his close working relationship with Tinubu had also convinced him that the president had good intentions for the country.

“I have worked very closely with him. I have seen his good heart, I have seen his good intentions, and I’m telling you that the President has never asked me to give jobs to this or that person,” he said.

Umahi also expressed confidence that Tinubu would make significant gains in the Southeast during the 2027 presidential election, saying his faith suggested that the APC could win the five states in the region.

“I will not tell you whether we will win the five votes of the Southeast or not, but the President is going to harvest a lot of votes in the Southeast. My faith is telling me we will win the five states,” he said.

While dismissing the claim that the presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, could pose a threat to the ruling party in the South East, the minister urged Nigerians to move away from regional politics, arguing that such an approach would not benefit the country.

“We shouldn’t play regional politics because it doesn’t help us. As a region, we should be able to have a handshake across the Niger,” he added.

Umahi also defended Tinubu’s economic reforms, acknowledging that they had caused hardship, particularly for vulnerable Nigerians, but insisting that the measures were necessary to tackle the country’s economic difficulties.

He argued that the administration should be assessed by comparing the economic situation when Tinubu assumed office with the current situation, rather than judging the reforms solely by the immediate hardship they had caused.

The minister said the administration’s infrastructure programme was also part of its effort to establish the foundation for long-term economic growth.

He disclosed that Tinubu inherited 2,068 projects valued at about N13 trillion when he assumed office in 2023, adding that about 80 per cent of the projects being executed by his ministry were inherited from the previous administration.

Umahi said Tinubu had directed him not to abandon the inherited projects because many of them were located along major economic corridors.

He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Road, Trans-Sahara/Trans-Harada corridor and Akwanga-Jos Road among major road projects being pursued by the administration.

On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Umahi rejected allegations of wrongdoing and said he was prepared to take responsibility for the procurement process.

He said the first 47.47-kilometre section had been completed, while work on the second section was nearing completion.

According to him, the legacy projects were being financed through an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing arrangement, with the Federal Government providing 30 per cent and 70 per cent sourced through external financing.

Umahi said Deutsche Bank provided financing for Section One of the coastal highway, adding that the facility was oversubscribed by $100 million.

The minister had earlier expressed confidence that four major legacy road projects would be completed within the next three years “by God’s special grace.”

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has claimed that the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi is not a threat to President Bola Tinubu. 

He, however, said Obi is his brother.

Featuring on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, the minister said: “Peter Obi is my brother and friend. My position about integrating the Southeast into the main stream of the nation never changed as a governor.

“When Buhari was there I publicly asked the Southeast to give Buhari 25 percent while I gave Atiku 75 percent in my state.

“So my position has not changed, my position is that we should have a broad mind. Peter Obi is not the only Southeast candidate contesting, we have three other Southeast candidates that are contesting.

“So Peter Obi is not a threat to APC. Talk is cheap and I’m saying what we are doing. I said what I did as governor of Ebonyi State.

“I’m saying any of these people that say they want to rule the country should open the video on how they developed their community when they occupied the position.”