The Minister of Works, Sen David Umahi Weekend said that southeast zone must know that the zone votes alone cannot mak our brother Peter Obi the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) President of the country pleadingwith the southeast people to vote for President Bola Tinubu in 2027 general election.

Speaking with journaliststs in Okigwe, Imo State, after inspecting the 65-kilometre Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe federal road project, being executed under the federal government’s tax-credit scheme with Dangote Industries Limited as sponsor and Hi-Tech construction as contractor, Umahi noted that President Ahmed Tinubu has the supports from other zones which placed him far above other contestants pleading with people not to vote for Peter Obi to avoid repeating the mistake of 2023.

Umahi said that the region needs to appreciate the President through their votes for the massive infrastructures in the area under the President urging the people of South East to be strategic and support President Tinubu’s re-election.

“We need to stand up for the President, we need to stand up for this champion, we need to stand up for this man that says Nigeria belongs to all of us, that South East is part of Nigeria.

“And so, we will commit to appreciating him, to showing gratitude to come out of sentiments . Then I can assure you that more will happen in 20231.

“South East must vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, South East must know that our vote alone cannot make our brother, His Excellency Peter Obi to be President.

“No, we have to be strategic. And for those that misunderstand us, His Excellency Peter Obi is my friend and my colleague. We have been governors, he might be a senior one but governor is governor and we also contested presidential intention together. He didn’t get, I didn’t get.

“I am happy for the President I serve now that got it. And automatically by the reason of what he is doing all over the country, I continue to say to the people of South East, I am on the ballot.

“I am on the ballot because the ballot is about democracy, the ballot is about what you bring for your people and I have a bragging right to the glory of God that we have not been left behind.

“And so, I don’t insult my brother but I boldly say do not vote for His Excellency Peter Obi, vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu . Is there any crime in that? This is very important.

“Ind so, those who are very aggressive, those who insult me because they have different opinion, they are not democrat and they are not wise and that is not how South East is going to become President. They are not going to become President of South East, President of Nigeria.

“You have to accommodate divergent views, you have to accommodate me feelings of others. And you can’t say who am I in the development of South East because you can put the credentials of everybody side by side.

“God has privileged me through President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be an irreducible decimal in the affairs of South East. I can boldly put my hands on my chest and say yes I stood for my people, I stood for the entire country. And so, you cannot discount me, you cannot say that what I am saying doesn’t make sense.

“If the projects that the President is using me to do, if they make sense, then there is sense in these things that am telling our people.

Umahi said the 60-metre-high mountain on the Afikpo/Uturu/Okigwe express way historically constituted a major safety challenge for road users and was responsible for several fatal accidents along the corridor, stressing that the Tinubu administration was determined to eliminate the obstacle and deliver a safer and more efficient highway.

“This mountain, by the command of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must collapse for the people of South-East,” Umahi said.

He described the mountain section as one of the most technically demanding portions of the project, noting that its successful removal would represent a major infrastructure breakthrough and contribute significantly to reducing loss of lives on the route.

“This place is very challenging. We have a mountain that is over 60 metres high. If God helps us in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to achieve this, this will be a major saving of lives for the people of South-East. This place has consumed many lives,” he said.

Umahi said work on the 65-kilometre road had recorded substantial progress, with more than 20 kilometres already completed, while commending the contractor for the quality of construction.

He particularly praised the concrete pavement being deployed, describing it as superior to what was obtainable on some other major Federal Government highway projects.

The minister maintained that the administration’s intervention in the Southeast should be assessed from the standpoint of tangible infrastructure delivery and economic impact, rather than political sentiments.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, Southeast, Barr. Chioma Nweze, commended the Federal Government for prioritising strategic road infrastructure in the region.

Nweze said the Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe highway would strengthen connectivity, open up communities and markets, and stimulate commercial activities across the affected states.

She identified the Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Enugu-Abakaliki, Abakaliki Trans-Sahara and Onitsha-Owerri roads among other major Federal Government projects ongoing in the Southeast.

She said the projects underscored the Tinubu administration’s commitment to closing critical infrastructure gaps and integrating the Southeast more firmly into the national economic development framework.

The Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe highway is expected to provide a strategic transport link between Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states, improve access to markets and institutions, and facilitate movement along adjoining interstate highways when completed.