Umahi rejects comparison with Obi and says presidency is not yet Igbo turn

Works Minister Dave Umahi has rejected suggestions that Peter Obi is superior to him, saying the two men’s backgrounds, intellectual capacity and records of service could be compared. Umahi made the remarks on Thursday in Benin City at an event focused on the Benin-Asaba road. Umahi said he did not believe reasonable people would insult Obi, but described the former Anambra governor as fortunate.

He also defended the administration of President Bola Tinubu, arguing that those who criticise the President should expect a response from ministers and other officials. The minister further disputed the suggestion that Obi was not his “match”. He said comparisons should consider what each man had done for people in the South-East and what they achieved while serving as governors.

Umahi also said the Igbo would eventually produce a president, but argued that it was not yet their turn and that the current turn belonged to Tinubu. On the Benin-Asaba road, Umahi said the Federal Government had decided to intervene temporarily after, according to him, the concessionaire rejected three options offered for continuing the agreement. He said Tinubu had directed that the 136-kilometre dualisation project be redesigned with reinforced concrete pavement.

Umahi added that the project had been defined and that immediate work would begin on the Benin Bypass. The supplied material does not give a completion timetable or estimate the cost of the redesign.