NEWS
South-East Will Adopt Tinubu as Sole 2027 Candidate, Umahi Declares During Project Inspection in Ebonyi
The Minister of Works, David Umahi has stated that stakeholders from the South-East are preparing to publicly declare President Bola Tinubu as their sole presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.
According to a Sunday statement issued by the Minister’s spokesperson, Francis Nwaze, Umahi made the remark during an inspection tour of ongoing federal road projects across Ebonyi State over the weekend.
During the visit, Umahi highlighted what he described as major infrastructure developments being executed under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that the South-East was witnessing increased federal attention in road and transport projects.
He said the region’s political and developmental stakeholders would use a planned event to demonstrate appreciation for the President’s interventions.
“South-East are very appreciative of what the President is doing. By Monday, under the leadership of the Governor of Ebonyi State, we will demonstrate this appreciation when we adopt the President as our sole candidate,” Umahi said.
At various project sites, the Minister showcased key federal road works across the South-East corridor, describing them as evidence of what he called “tangible evidence of inclusion, fairness and development” under the current administration.
One of the focal points of the inspection was the Calabar–Abuja highway corridor, where Umahi explained the engineering importance of an ongoing flyover project designed to ease traffic flow at a critical junction along the Trans-Saharan Super Highway route.
“Let me say that this is the point where the Trans-Saharan Route takes a bend. The essence of this flyover is to resolve the conflict at this point,” he said.
He further disclosed that the Federal Government had already made provisions in the 2026 budget to extend the corridor directly into the Ebonyi State capital, strengthening connectivity within the region.
“The road going to the capital city, which is 18km from this point, is included in the 2026 budget, and the Federal Government will undertake the connection to the city centre.”
Despite concerns about project funding, Umahi assured that construction activities would continue without interruption, adding that efforts were underway to settle outstanding payments to contractors.
“Of course, the contractor has not been paid, but we are creditworthy.
“All contractors being owed will be paid. There should be no stoppage of work because we want to see if we can commission this project by December. The cost is ₦25 billion.”
He described the ongoing works as part of a wider transformation agenda being implemented in the South-East, insisting that more projects would soon become visible across the region.
“This is just the beginning. You will see remarkable projects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the South-East. When we talk about the gains of the South-East under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, some people who do not understand what we are talking about will continue to criticize us.”
Umahi also made a strong political remark about the region’s future direction, stating that recent political alignments would not be repeated.
“Let it be known that Ebonyi State is not obedient because we want to catch up with the rest of the country, and we will never be obedient. What happened before was an accident of history. It wi
ll not repeat itself,” he said.