Minister of Works Dave Umahi has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will sweep all five states in the South-East in the 2027 presidential election, declaring that he is personally working to make it happen.
Umahi, a former Governor of Ebonyi State and senior member of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) said Tinubu’s administration had improved the region’s federal representation and infrastructure, reversing grievances that helped fuel opposition support in 2023.
“My faith is telling me we will win the five states,” Umahi said in an interview with Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
“The president is going to harvest a lot of votes in the South-East”, he stated.
The APC now governs three of the five Southeast states–Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu–while the Labour Party controls Abia and the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) holds Anambra.
That is a sharper foothold than the party had when Peter Obi, then the Labour Party candidate, swept all five Southeast states in the 2023 presidential election.
Umahi urged South-East residents to look beyond regional loyalty, saying the region should pursue “a handshake across the nation” rather than bloc voting.
He argued that the APC’s improved position reflects both political realignments and the Tinubu administration’s outreach to the zone.
The Minister acknowledged that the South-East had reason to feel excluded under former President Muhammadu Buhari, saying the region received no service chiefs and few major ministerial portfolios.
He contrasted that with the current government, pointing to South-East representation in the works, foreign-affairs and science-and-industry portfolios.
He also cited federal road and bridge projects as evidence that the region is being integrated into national development, while backing efforts to create a sixth Southeast state.
“We just want to be fairly treated,” Umahi said, adding that the state-creation effort remains “a work in progress.”
The Minister’s confidence will face a practical test in 2027: state-level party control does not necessarily translate into presidential votes, and Obi remains a potent figure in the region.
Still, Umahi dismissed the idea that Obi alone would determine the outcome, noting that several other presidential candidates also come from the Southeast.
For Tinubu, a strong South-East performance would mark a major reversal from 2023 and could strengthen the APC’s national coalition.
For opposition parties, retaining influence in Abia and Anambra – and contesting the APC’s gains elsewhere – will be central to preventing the sweep, Umahi predicts.
