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The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has hit back at former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, questioning claims about their respective records and declaring that “it’s not the turn of the Igbos yet” to produce Nigeria’s president.
The minister made the remarks in Benin while speaking on the Federal Government’s ongoing road interventions and defending the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against mounting criticism.
Taking a swipe at Obi, the minister said he was prompted to examine the former Anambra governor’s record after hearing him described as being “not my match”.
“When that guy says that Peter Obi is not my match, it took me 10 minutes to think about it,” the minister said.
He questioned whether Obi had a stronger family background, intellectual credentials or record of service to the South-East.
“Is it what we have done for the people of South-East? Is it what we did when we were governors? So, when you say he’s not my match, put it side by side and tell me what Peter Obi is better than this,” he said.
The minister also rejected what he described as attempts to portray the Tinubu administration negatively, arguing that the Federal Government’s infrastructure projects were benefiting communities across the country.
He then turned to the question of the South-East’s long-standing aspiration to produce Nigeria’s president.
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“What we are saying is that it’s not the turn of the Igbos yet,” he declared.
According to him, the South-East would eventually have its opportunity to produce the president, but the current political moment belongs to Tinubu.
“I want to be president, but it’s not yet our turn. It’s the turn of President Bola Tinubu,” he said.
The minister added that political opportunities would eventually come for the South-East, saying: “When it is our turn, at the time of God, He makes all things beautiful.”
He further urged supporters of the Tinubu administration to defend what he described as the president’s achievements in the South-South, South-East and other parts of the country.
“We are saying that the president has done very well. In South-South, in South-East and in the entire geopolitical zone, he deserves continuity, he deserves support,” the minister said.
