The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has effectively given Ndigbo the Biafra they have long sought through inclusive governance and massive infrastructure development in the South East.
Umahi also declared that 2026 would be a year of restoration and massive turnaround for Nigeria.
In his New Year message, the former Ebonyi State governor said the most difficult period of Nigeria’s nationhood was over, attributing the progress to what he described as the robust economic and infrastructural policies of the Tinubu administration.
According to him, the coming year would witness a major transformation across all sectors of the economy.
Umahi urged the people of the South East to remain steadfast in their support for President Tinubu’s re-election, describing the President as a consolation to Ndigbo after years of neglect and marginalisation.
He expressed optimism that the region would “correct the errors” of the 2023 general election by rallying behind Tinubu in future polls, insisting that the President had addressed what he termed the criminal marginalisation of the South East by previous administrations.
“Our people will never make the mistake of 2023 again. We shall remain resolute and stand strongly together behind Mr President in the 2027 election,” Umahi said. “Ndigbo will not be deceived again by marauding politicians with sugar-coated mouths.”
He added that if President Tinubu appears on the ballot in 2027, the governors of the South East and himself would stand firmly with him, describing such support as a collective regional interest.
“One of our brothers is already saying he will be on the ballot in 2027, but I am telling Ndigbo that President Tinubu will be on the ballot. Once he is on the ballot, all the governors of the South East are on the ballot, and I, the Minister of Works, am also on the ballot,” he said.
Umahi maintained that the kind of Biafra many Igbos fought and agitated for has come through national integration, inclusion and equal participation in national development.
“President Tinubu has reopened our chapter and is massively investing in our future. Indeed, the Biafra is here,” he said.
The minister called for social re-engineering and de-radicalisation of minds still clinging to separatist narratives, urging them to embrace unity and integration as the true path to progress.
On infrastructure, Umahi assured Nigerians that federal road projects ongoing across the country were receiving adequate funding and supervision, adding that many of the roads would be completed in record time and according to specifications.
He also disclosed plans to constitute a special task force to enforce the directive banning trucks from parking on federal highways.
According to him, the Ministry of Works will collaborate with security agencies to ensure safer highways, especially as travellers return to their destinations after the yuletide season.
