By Divine Sam.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed the suggestion that Peter Obi is the South-East’s strongest option for the presidency, insisting that the region has other qualified political leaders capable of seeking the nation’s highest office.

Umahi made the remarks during an interview with ARISE News on Friday while defending South-East politicians supporting President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

“Peter Obi is not the best of our finest in South East. He’s not the best, he can never be the best,” Umahi said.

The former Ebonyi State governor argued that any presidential aspirant seeking to represent the South-East should consult governors and other influential political stakeholders in the region before embarking on such an ambition.

According to him, pursuing the presidency without engaging established political leaders in the region is not the right approach to building a collective political agenda.

“You cannot play politics in South East without consulting people like us,” he said.

Umahi maintained that he would have consulted political leaders across the region if he had decided to run for president, stressing that an ambition expected to represent an entire geopolitical zone should not be pursued in isolation.

“If I were contesting, I would have consulted,” he said.

The minister also challenged the notion that Obi should automatically be regarded as the South-East’s preferred presidential candidate because of his performance in the 2023 election.

He further questioned the argument that Anambra State should automatically produce Nigeria’s president if the opportunity eventually comes to the South-East.

Umahi pointed to Nigeria’s first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, who hailed from the area now known as Anambra State, arguing that other states in the region should also be considered in future discussions about the presidency.

He specifically mentioned Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Imo as states that should have opportunities to produce a presidential candidate from the South-East.

The minister’s comments come amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general election, with divisions emerging among political leaders in the South-East over whether to support Tinubu or Obi.

Umahi defended those backing the incumbent president, arguing that their political decisions should not be interpreted as a betrayal of the region.

He maintained that the South-East could improve its chances of producing a president through political negotiations and alliances with other geopolitical zones, rather than treating support for a particular candidate as a measure of regional loyalty.

The minister also insisted that no individual politician should be regarded as the region’s only viable option for the presidency.

In September, Umahi had reportedly challenged comparisons between himself and Obi during an appearance in Benin City, saying he could not identify any area in which the former Anambra governor was superior to him.

He also expressed confidence that the South-East would eventually produce Nigeria’s president, while maintaining that the region’s turn had yet to come.

“It is not yet our turn,” he said.