Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, on Thursday mounted a strong defence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s record in the South-East, dismissing claims by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe that the region has not benefited from the current administration.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, Umahi said he convened the interaction to review activities of his ministry and used the opportunity to address recent comments credited to Senator
Abaribe, whom he described as his in-law.
The Works Minister emphasized that all the South-East governors are supporting the President because he has provided inclusive governance, saying, “It is not correct to say the President has done nothing for the South-East.”
Using Abia State as an example, Umahi said the performance of Governor Alex Otti was linked to President Tinubu’s decision to release more funds to sub-national governments.
According to him, the improved fiscal capacity of states under the current administration has enabled governors to deliver more dividends of democracy.
The Minister also faulted past administrations for excluding the South-East from key security appointments, noting that President Tinubu corrected what he described as a long-standing imbalance by appointing strategic service chiefs from the zone.
He added that the establishment of an Army training depot in Ebonyi State was a critical intervention to tackle insecurity in the region.
Umahi reeled out several infrastructure projects he said the President had either initiated, revived or funded substantially in the South-East. These include the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, sections of the Trans-Sahara Road passing through Ebonyi State, the Second Niger Bridge bypass, the dualisation of the Enugu–Abakaliki Road, and ongoing work on the Enugu–Onitsha and Enugu–Port Harcourt expressways.
He said the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway followed due procurement process, including Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), international stakeholder engagement and evaluation by foreign development finance institutions.
Umahi disclosed that the project was later oversubscribed by international financiers, which he said was proof of its viability and transparency.
“The international funders are not jokers,” he said. “They confirmed the project was properly packaged, of high quality and even undervalued.”
The Minister also listed completed and ongoing projects such as the reconstruction and commissioning of the Atani Bridge in Enugu State, the Emene flyover, and improved travel times on major federal highways across the region.
Reacting to Abaribe’s suggestion that President Tinubu would not be supported in 2027, Umahi said the Senator was speaking for himself and not for the South-East.
He maintained that governors and many residents of the region were grateful to the President and would support him based on performance.
“Let me use the opportunity to talk about what a Senator from my zone has said, talking about the President, and he mentioned me, and that’s Senator Abaribe. Incidentally, he’s my in-law, and I sent him a text that I’m going to reply to him and he said to me that he spoke as an opposition, and nothing personal.
“I’m also going to speak on behalf of the government as far as the issues he raised are concerned, and there will be nothing personal about it.
“First and foremost, I boasted and I still boast that all the Southeast governors are supporting the president, because the President has provided inclusive governance in the country.
“He (Senator Abaribe) said that there is no support, that what has the President done for them (Southeast), that they will support him.
“I want to tell you what the president has done for the governors of Southeast and also for the zone. In the first place, the governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, is my cousin, who is actually doing very well.
“I attended an occasion with Governor Otti and also Senator Abaribe, and he praised Gov Otti very highly for his performances. And of course, I agree totally with him and other people. They love and support the governor because of his capacity and serious shift in terms of dividends of democracy, judging from the past administrations.
“So let me tell Senator Abaribe that the performance of Governor Otti is a product of President Bola Tinubu. If he (Mr. President) didn’t have the audacity and courage to release more money to the governors, gov Otti would not be doing what he’s doing.
According to him, Governor Otti, has acknowledged in his presence that the sub-nationals are part of the national governments, stressing that every success recorded by the governors, and in particular the governor of Abia State is a success that the president has offered.
While stating that Senator Abaribe needs to know and be corrected, he said, “And let me also correct him, because he said that they asked me about the procurement of the Lagos-Calabar Highway. In the first instance, he’s a lawmaker, and he has been in the Senate for a very long time. I don’t want to ask what he has achieved for his people, because I’m not part of his people.
“But if we put together what he has achieved, and he’s questioning me, then I have to question what he has achieved because by saying that I didn’t care about the procurement process, it’s an attack on my personality and integrity.
“And I think that after correcting him, he has to withdraw his statement because if he doesn’t, I will say more,”.
The Works Minister who read out the numerous completed and ongoing projects in the Southeast by President Tinubu’s administration, said Senator Abaribe has to be educated about what the President is doing for the zone.
“Senator Abaribe needs to know that the Enugu Port Harcourt has been ongoing, and a journey of two and a half hours would take seven hours.
“Before the president came on board, you wouldn’t travel between Aba and Port Harcourt. Today, one full carriageway is fully completed, and you can engage one carriageway from Enugu, straight to Port Harcourt. And the governors of Southeast are very happy.
“They are very grateful to the president, and I can boldly say that the president has done very well for Southeast people.”
On the economy, Umahi said the “worst is over,” citing improvements in foreign reserves, relative stability of the naira, easing inflation, falling food prices and ongoing social interventions for students and vulnerable groups.
He urged the opposition to be constructive, warning against what he described as cyber-bullying and unsubstantiated claims against government officials.
“The President has included the South-East in the affairs of the nation,” Umahi said. “We may still discuss marginalisation like other zones, but exclusion is no longer the case under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”