Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said Peter Obi “can never be the best” presidential material from the Southeast, arguing that the former Anambra State governor failed to adequately consult political leaders in the region before his 2023 presidential bid.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News Anchor Ojy Okpe, Umahi said his position was not driven by personal animosity towards Obi, but by his assessment of the political leadership available in the Southeast.
“Peter Obi is not the best of our finest in South East,” Umahi said. “He’s not the best, he can never be the best.”
Umahi argued that a presidential candidate seeking to represent the political aspirations of the Southeast should first build consensus among governors and other political leaders in the region.
“You cannot play politics in South East without consulting people like us,” he said.
The former Ebonyi State governor said that if he were seeking the presidency himself, he would approach the process differently by consulting extensively with political stakeholders before presenting himself as a candidate.
“If I were contesting, I would have consulted,” Umahi said, maintaining that a presidential ambition carrying the expectations of an entire region could not be pursued in isolation.
He argued that Obi should have consulted Southeast governors and other leaders before emerging as the region’s dominant presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
Umahi also challenged the suggestion that Obi should automatically be regarded as the Southeast’s strongest candidate for the presidency because of his performance in the last election.
He said the region had other qualified political figures and argued that presidential politics required negotiation and engagement with other parts of the country rather than relying principally on regional enthusiasm.
Umahi said he had “nothing personal” against Obi, stressing that different political circumstances required different qualities in a leader.
The Works Minister also questioned arguments that the presidency should automatically return to Anambra State if the opportunity arose for the Southeast to produce a president.
He noted that Nigeria’s first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, came from the area now constituting Anambra State and argued that other states in the Southeast should also be considered.
Umahi identified Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Imo as states that should have an opportunity in any future discussion about producing a president from the region.
His comments came as he defended the growing support for President Bola Tinubu among political leaders in the Southeast ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi argued that the Southeast’s path to the presidency ultimately depended on political negotiation and integration with the rest of the country rather than treating support for a particular candidate as a test of loyalty to the region.
He also rejected criticism of Southeast political figures supporting Tinubu rather than Obi, saying it was wrong to portray them as betraying the region because of their political choices.
The minister maintained that the Southeast must negotiate and build alliances across Nigeria if it wants to produce a president, insisting that no single politician should be treated as the region’s only viable presidential option.
Demola Ojo
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