Umahi says Peter Obi remains his friend but insists he has repeatedly told him he cannot beat Tinubu to the presidency.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) will work collaboratively as progressive parties to ensure President Bola Tinubu wins Anambra State in the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi also dismissed the presidential prospects of Peter Obi, describing the former Anambra State governor as his friend but insisting that he had told him he would not win the presidency.
The minister spoke on Friday during an inspection of the Obosi-Ogbunike-Ogidi interchange road leading from the Second Niger Bridge in Anambra State.
The idea that “progressives are working together” was promoted by Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo during the run-up to his re-election in 2025, when Tinubu visited the state to commission projects executed by the governor.
Soludo had described APGA and APC as progressive parties, calling APGA the first registered progressive party and APC the country’s largest grouping of progressives. He also pledged to support Tinubu’s re-election.
Umahi, who described Anambra as a stronghold of the President, said the Tinubu administration had been friendly towards the South-East and rejected claims that the region was being marginalised.
“My people used to talk to me about what they read on social media about me, but I don’t go to social media. I’m surprised that at every small turn, our people take it to social media and say Igbo are being marginalised. Where were such people in the previous administrations where Igbo were truly marginalised?” he said.
Umahi predicted that Tinubu would win re-election in 2027 and argued that cooperation between APC and APGA would strengthen the President’s support in Anambra.
“Let me use this opportunity to tell you that Tinubu is going to win in 2027. Anambra is a very strong base for Mr President and the progressives are working together here. In the last off-cycle election here, progressives took all the votes,” he said.
Turning to Obi, Umahi said their friendship had not stopped him from expressing his view about the former Labour Party presidential candidate’s chances.
“For those of you who go on social media and insult me, I want to tell you that Peter Obi is my friend and I used to tell him he cannot win,” Umahi said.
“All our South-East votes cannot make our brother president. I will keep telling you the truth and you know that it gives me happiness to know that I say things that occupy your thought, and it makes me happy to know that you are hearing my message.”
The minister said people in the South-East were increasingly embracing the Tinubu administration and urged residents to demonstrate their support by voting in 2027.
“I am happy that our people are now hearing the message and now keying into the administration of President Bola Tinubu. So, I urge our people to come out on election day and vote for APC, don’t go and be playing football on election day and expect that you will be appreciated for not voting,” he said.
“Even God likes appreciation, so you must vote for Tinubu and that will show how appreciative you are of these projects he is siting here. Don’t waste your support because if you do, Tinubu will still win.”
Umahi added: “If you say Christ is not the Lord, it doesn’t make Him less the Lord. Tinubu will win and even if you dispute it, he will still win.”
During the project inspection, the minister directed contractors to accelerate work and charged Ministry of Works engineers across the country to ensure that projects were delivered according to agreed specifications and standards.
The Acting Controller of Works in Anambra State, Timothy Emenike, commended Umahi for regularly inspecting road and infrastructure projects across the country to ensure contractors complied with agreed specifications.
