S’East Presidency: Let Voters Decide, Obi Tells Umahi

Presidential candidate of the Labour party, (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has berated the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over his recent remark that it is not the turn of the South-East to produce Nigeria’s president in 2027.

Recall that Umahi, in a recent interview had urged urged South-East politicians to rally behind President Bola Tinubu for re-election and drop their presidential bid.

He added that the South-East can aspire to the presidency after Tinubu completed his constitutionally permitted eight years in office.

Reacting to the Minister’s declaration, Obi’s media aide and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, stated 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.