The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed the Labour Party's 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as the strongest presidential contender from the South-East, saying Obi lacks the standing some have attributed to him within the region. Umahi made the remarks during a Friday, October 23, 2026, interview on ARISE News, as reported by The Punch.
"Peter Obi is not the best of our finest in South East. He's not the best; he can never be the best," the minister said. Central to Umahi's criticism is what he describes as Obi's failure to consult governors and key political stakeholders in the region before pursuing his presidential ambition in 2023.
Umahi Criticises Obi's Lack of Consultation with Regional Leaders
The former Ebonyi State governor argued that no aspirant claiming to represent the South-East could legitimately do so without first securing the buy-in of its established political class. "You cannot play politics in South East without consulting people like us," Umahi said, adding that he would have done so himself had he sought the presidency. "If I were contesting, I would have consulted," he said.
Umahi insisted the region has other qualified figures capable of pursuing the presidency and pushed back against any suggestion that Obi's 2023 performance automatically elevates him to frontrunner status for 2027. He also challenged the notion that Anambra State holds a natural claim to producing the South-East's first president.
Umahi Says All Five South-East States Should Be in Zoning Discussion
While acknowledging that Nigeria's first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, hailed from the area now comprising Anambra, Umahi argued that Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Imo should also feature in any genuine conversation about zoning the presidency to the region.
On the broader political question, Umahi argued that South-East leaders who back President Bola Tinubu are not betraying their region. He maintained that the path to producing a Nigerian president from the South-East runs through careful negotiation and coalition-building with other geopolitical zones, not through loyalty to a single candidate.
Ebonyi Diaspora Group Condemns Umahi's Remarks, Threatens Legal Action
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that the Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural in the Diaspora (AEISCID) condemned Umahi's remarks on the 2027 elections as divisive. The group accused Umahi of attacking Peter Obi and other politicians for simply exercising their constitutional rights to seek office.
AEISCID threatened legal action if Umahi failed to retract his statements within 72 hours and called on President Tinubu to intervene. The group's response underscores the ongoing political tension within the South-East as the 2027 presidential election approaches, with regional leaders and diaspora groups clashing over the best path to the presidency.
