2027 Election: Why Peter Obi Isn't the Best Choice in the South-East, Minister Explains

• Nigeria's Minister of Works has made a bold public assessment of Peter Obi's standing within South-East politics
• Umahi pointed to a step Obi allegedly skipped before his 2023 presidential bid that he says cannot be ignored
• The minister also challenged a widely held belief about which South-East state has the strongest claim to the presidency

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Nigeria's Minister of Works, David Umahi, has publicly declared that Peter Obi does not represent the strongest presidential prospect the South-East has to offer, dismissing what he described as an inflated perception of the Labour Party's 2023 candidate within the region.

Speaking on ARISE News on Friday, 23 October 2026, Umahi was direct in his assessment. "Peter Obi is not the best of our finest in the South East. He's not the best; he can never be the best," he said.

At the heart of Umahi's criticism is what he sees as Obi's failure to consult governors and key political figures in the region before launching his 2023 presidential campaign.

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The former Ebonyi State governor argued that no aspirant can genuinely claim to represent the South-East without first securing the backing of its established political leadership.

"You cannot play politics in South East without consulting people like us," he said, adding that he would have followed that process himself. "If I were contesting, I would have consulted," Umahi noted.

He went further to argue that the South-East has other capable figures who could pursue the presidency, and that Obi's showing in 2023 does not automatically position him as the frontrunner for 2027.

Umahi also pushed back against the assumption that Anambra State holds a special claim to producing the region's first president.

While he acknowledged that Nigeria's founding President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, was from the area that now forms Anambra, he argued that Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, and Imo must also be included in any honest conversation about zoning the presidency to the South-East.

On the question of South-East politicians aligning with President Bola Tinubu ahead of 2027, Umahi defended their position, arguing that securing the presidency for the region requires careful coalition-building across Nigeria's geopolitical zones, not blind loyalty to a single candidate.

His remarks, however, did not go unchallenged. The Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural in the Diaspora condemned his comments as divisive, accusing him of attacking Obi and others for simply exercising their constitutional right to seek office.

The group threatened legal action if Umahi failed to retract his statements within 72 hours, and called on President Tinubu to step in.

Lawmakers Who Met President Tinubu Receive Car Gifts

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported earlier that Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle donated vehicles to eight Zamfara lawmakers who rejoined the APC.

The gesture followed a reported directive from President Bola Tinubu urging the lawmakers to return home and strengthen the party.

Northern elders praised the development but warned it should not mark the end of APC's reconciliation efforts in Zamfara.

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Source: YEN.com.gh