Minister of Works, David Umahi, has predicted that President Bola Tinubu could win all five South-East states in the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi said the All Progressives Congress would significantly improve its performance in the region, compared with the 2023 presidential poll.
The former Ebonyi State governor stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he assessed the APC’s chances of gaining more support in the South-East.
Umahi said Tinubu’s support in the region would be substantially higher in 2027.
“I will not tell you whether we win the five votes of the South-East or not, but the President is going to harvest a lot of votes in the South-East. It can never be the same as it was before,” he said.
Asked how many South-East states he expected the APC to win, Umahi expressed confidence that the party could take all five.
“My faith is telling me we’ll win the five states,” he said.
The minister also dismissed the suggestion that Peter Obi would constitute a major threat to Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Umahi argued that Obi would not be the only presidential candidate from the South-East in the 2027 contest.
He said several other candidates from the region were expected to contest the election, thereby making the race broader than a contest between Tinubu and Obi.
“By the way, it is not only Peter Obi from the South-East who is contesting. We have about three or four other presidential candidates running,” Umahi said.
“We have the Labour Party, and I think there are two other parties, even a woman is involved. So, Peter Obi is not a threat as far as I am concerned.”
Tinubu secured limited support in the South-East during the 2023 presidential election, while Obi recorded a dominant performance across much of the region.
Umahi’s prediction comes as political parties begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential contest, with the South-East expected to remain a major battleground.
