Umahi says Obi poses no threat to Tinubu ahead of 2027 election

Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has said Peter Obi does not pose a threat to President Bola Tinubu or the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Umahi made the comment during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics. He said Obi was not the only presidential aspirant from the South-East, referring to candidates from the Labour Party and other parties, including a woman.

“Peter Obi is not a threat as far as I am concerned,” Umahi said. He added, however, that he was not underestimating the former Anambra governor. Obi contested the 2023 presidential election for the Labour Party and won all five states in the South-East, according to the source material.

Political parties and candidates are now intensifying preparations for the next election, which is due in 2027. Umahi said the APC’s performance in government would help it attract voters in the region. He expressed confidence that Tinubu would win all the South-East states, arguing that the administration had addressed complaints of marginalisation.

He said the region had been poorly represented under the previous administration, citing the absence of service chiefs and major ministerial portfolios from the South-East. Umahi said voters therefore could not be fully blamed for rejecting the APC in 2023. The minister said the situation had changed under Tinubu.

He pointed to his own appointment as works minister and cited the presence of South-East officials in the foreign affairs and science and industry portfolios. Umahi said residents were pleased with the appointments and with the administration’s work, without providing specific evidence for that assessment.