Umahi expresses confidence about Tinubu’s victory in South-East

The former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi’s expected declaration to contest the 2027 presidential election on the opposition coalition platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised apprehension of further realignments and cross-overs across political parties in the South-East geopolitical zone.
   
This is just as stakeholders in the region expressed reservations about the purported declaration, saying that unless the ADC was prepared to cede its presidential ticket to the South-East, Obi’s quest may end up playing up identity politics and bandwagon voter behaviour.
   
Governors of four out of the five South-East states, including Prof. Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi); Dr Peter Mbah (Enugu) and Hope Uzodimma (Imo), have already declared their intention to support President Bola Tinubu on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 poll.
 
All eyes are on Abia State governor, Dr Alex Chioma Otti, who is yet to shift allegiance from the Labour Party (LP) on which Obi contested the 2023 presidential ballot, with many saying that Otti’s position as the only face of opposition will determine the ultimate impact of Obi’s move on the electoral calculations in the zone.

Nonetheless, there are strong suggestions that Obi’s formal declaration to contest on ADC would trigger a fresh wave of cross-defections in the South-East region.
 
Checks by The Guardian indicated that some politicians who believe in Obi’s style of politics, especially those who benefitted from the Obidient wave in the 2023 general election, have been patiently waiting for his next move, as well as those who have moved and are ready to join his new platform.
 
Speaking to The Guardian on the likely implications of today’s event, Senator Emmanuel Onwe, who served Ebonyi Central Senatorial District on the platform of PDP, declared: “Peter Obi’s 2027 declaration will detonate like an explosive in South-East politics.
 
“It will force a reckoning between grassroots’ Obidient’ fervour and entrenched APC-aligned governors. His move to ADC will be less about being lured than about testing whether his organic support can be institutionalised.
 
“If denied the presidential ticket, he would still have the nuclear option of mobilising outside party structures. The South-East electorate will likely see ADC as a defiant counterweight to APC collaboration, and Otti’s stance will be read as either betrayal or bold solidarity.”
 
He contended, however, that if the Abia State governor joins Obi in ADC, he will be hailed as a courageous ally, cementing his image as a reformist governor. “If he refuses, it will be read as capitulation to APC power brokers, risking alienation from the Obidient base. Either way, Otti’s decision will be symbolic of whether South-East governors stand with the people or with Abuja,” the former lawmaker stated.
 
While remarking that the former LP standard bearer’s move is not a lure, but a calculated embrace, Onwe recalls how Obi disclosed that he has been part of the coalition from inception, stressing that ADC offers him a ready-made structure without the baggage of LP’s internal crises.

Obi, who has for some time now been linked with various political parties for the 2027 contests, had at the weekend confirmed that he was leaving the LP for the ADC. Sources indicated that he would w ant to vie for the presidential ticket of the party to enable him to run in 2027.

MEANWHILE, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, yesterday, said that the South-East will not vote on sentiment as they did during the last general election, saying that the Igbo will vote massively for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State in the 2027 general election. He insisted that the region’s interests are better secured through strategy, unity, and constructive engagement rather than sentiments.

Umahi asserted at his country home in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Council Area of Ebonyi State, while receiving various political, religious, and community groups who paid him a Christmas homage.
 
Addressing the gathering, the former Ebonyi State governor said the South-East has no reason to deceive itself about its political choices, stressing that Tinubu has demonstrated commitment to the development of the region through major infrastructure projects.
 
“You ask me what the President has done for the South-East, and I will tell you what he has done for the region,” Umahi said.