The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has declared that declared that South-East governors, regardless of their political parties, will back President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election.

Speaking during a press conference on while touring federal projects in the South-West, Umahi said Tinubu’s growing support among South-East leaders is driven by long-standing personal loyalty and mutual respect, not party affiliation.

According to the former Ebonyi State Governor, many of these leaders, friendship and shared history with Tinubu take precedence over political affiliation.

“Tell me, who is not working for him?” Umahi asked rhetorically. “Friendship is bigger than the ties of party. That’s what I’ve realised.”

Umahi stated that the relationships between President Tinubu and several South-East governors is evidence of cross-party loyalty based on mutual respect and history.

He said: “The Enugu governor (Mbah) is a Lagos boy. He’s been a friend of the president. He will not work against the president whether he joins our party or not.

“The governor of Abia state (Alex Otti) is my cousin. He is also a Lagos boy. He’s been there and friendly with the president. They had known themselves and they will all work for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Now, my state governor (Ebonyi’s Nwifuru) is the son of the president. You can’t take that away from him. The Forget about coalition. Ebonyi state is 100% APC.”

“Soludo is a Lagos boy. He’s a friend of the president. He’s doing very well in Anambra state irrespective of the fact that my party is also struggling with him. But you can’t remove the fact that he has done very well. So we are at peace and this time we will not divide our votes,” Umahi said.