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Umahi to Obi: You’re deserted, join the Tinubu train! *Otti, S’East govs in full support
Even Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP), has signed in to the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu in 2027 the support of the South East governors and political leaders for him total, going by revelations of Dave Umahi, Minister of Works on the future political direction of the zone.
Umahi who was quoted to have given the indication in a soon-to-be unveiled documentary by the Presidency to mark Tinubu’s two years in office, reportedly said all the five governors in the South East geo-political zone had signed in to the Tinubu project.
The meaning is that like in 2023 when he ran without any governor or major political structure in his kitty, Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the LP, would return back to square one if he decides to throw his hat into the ring in 2027.
Umahi was said to have made the same suggestion when he reportedly called on the region’s undecided opposition figures, including the former Governor of Anambra State to join the train and back the President, insisting that the support of the zone was total.
The profile of the interview was conveyed in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s spokesman, who quoted Umahi as saying: “All the governors in the South East, regardless of party affiliation, are working with the President.”
The South East is not only one of the zones without homogeneous distribution of parties in government, but the only one with four political parties in power as a result of political developments over time.
While the All Progressives Congress (APC), controls Imo and Ebonyi, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), originally in charge of all the states, is now left in Enugu, while All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the LP control Anambra and Abia states, respectively.
Umahi, who was quoted as saying that a section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is nearing completion and that users would have to pay a toll effective December, 2025, hinged the huge support Tinubu is getting from the zone to the “new wave of federal attention and infrastructure development under President Tinubu.”
He added: “The Igbo man is enterprising and blessed with God-given wisdom. What Ndi Igbo seek is fairness, a Nigeria that treats every zone equally. That is what President Tinubu is doing. Before, when I was Governor and Deputy Governor, one of our major concerns in Ebonyi State was the lack of federal presence. But today, nobody remembers that issue anymore. Under President Tinubu, at least four federal projects are ongoing in Ebonyi State.”
He noted that while cries of marginalisation used to dominate conversations in the South East, the current administration has made significant progress in addressing long-standing concerns about infrastructure and appointments.
His words: “Today, the South East has a Minister of Works for the first time, and we’re seeing real projects – Port Harcourt to Enugu, Enugu to Abakaliki, Enugu to Onitsha, Onitsha to Owerri, and the Second Niger Bridge. The President has already paid 30 per cent of the cost of that bridge.
“We’re even planning a summit to bring together all South-East leaders to endorse the President for the 2027 elections formally. We want our projects to be completed, the country’s unity to be strengthened and proper integration of Ndi Igbo.
“Leadership is not about self—it’s about the people. If someone else is already doing what you would have done for your people, support him. I call on my brother, His Excellency Peter Obi, to join us and work with Mr. President. He must be part of this summit where we will collectively endorse President Tinubu for the 2027 election. I say it boldly: the South East is happy with the President.”
Dwelling more on Tinubu’s legacy projects, he named the four critical ones as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, the Trans-Saharan Trade Route, and the soon-to-be-procured Ogun-Ondo-Niger Corridor, describing them as transformative investments designed to unlock Nigeria’s economic potential and deepen regional integration.
Regarding the N15 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Minister revealed that over 80 per cent of Section 1, spanning 47.47 kilometres from Ahmadu Bello Way to the Lekki Deep Sea Port and terminating at Eleko Junction, had been completed, while work was also progressing on Section 2, covering 55 kilometres from Eleko Junction to the Lagos-Ogun border.
“By December, we will toll Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. We project a 10-year return on investment. The road has solar-powered lighting and CCTV infrastructure and offers carbon credit advantages.
“It is more than a road—it is an economic corridor and a catalyst for regional growth. We have completed 30 kilometres of Section 1 and are on track to complete an additional 10 in Section 2. These are six-lane, concrete-paved highways.
“Just days ago, we flagged off Sections 3 and 3B—65 kilometres in total—covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom. The host communities’ excitement speaks to these projects’ transformative impact.”
In that of Sokoto-Badagry, he explained its historic significance, which history he said was tied to the Second Republic of then President Shehu Shagari over four decades ago, he said: “The Trans-Saharan Trade Route dates back to colonial-era planning. President Tinubu is now bringing these long-abandoned visions to life.”
“God gave him (Tinubu) the vision for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway seven years ago. Today, he is actualising that vision. These projects testify to his unwavering commitment to national development and a better future for all Nigerians. These legacy projects are economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and forward-looking.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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