Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has condemned the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over his submission that it is not the turn of the South-East to produce Nigeria’s president in 2027.
Naijaonpoint reports that Umahi, in an interview, had urged South-East politicians to drop their presidential ambitions and rally behind President Bola Tinubu for re-election.
He stated that Tinubu should be allowed to complete his constitutionally permitted eight years in office before the South-East can aspire to the presidency.
Reacting to the Minister’s declaration, Obi’s media aide and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, told Punch that only the electorate, not political elites, have the power to decide who becomes president.
He said, “It is a democratic setting, and it is the people who will decide who becomes the next president, not any individual. Performance and track record will determine what the people want. That is how it should be.”
He added that while the debate over regional rotation should not ordinarily dominate politics, it had become the reality in Nigeria.
“Ordinarily, we shouldn’t be having talks about whether it should be a southern or northern candidate. But since it has already been established for the unity of this country, the status quo should remain,” Obi said.
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