A prominent diaspora group, the Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural in the Diaspora (AEISCID), has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against relying on Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, to secure the South East for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the group criticised Umahi’s recent claim—made in a State House documentary marking Tinubu’s second year in office—that all South East governors were backing Tinubu for re-election regardless of political affiliations.
Reacting, AEISCID President, Ambassador Pascal Oluchukwu, said Umahi’s boasts were baseless, stressing that the former Ebonyi governor lacked both the political capital and moral credibility to influence the region.
“Nnamdi Kanu is still being tried by the Tinubu-led government despite genuine calls that he should be granted a state pardon,” Oluchukwu said, lamenting what he described as Umahi’s failure to push for justice on key issues affecting the region.
He also slammed the Minister’s silence on recent UTME-related issues allegedly affecting South East candidates, accusing Umahi and other regional leaders of aloofness.
“Ordinarily, if Umahi had the interest of the South East at heart, he should have been addressing this growing concerns on behalf of Ndigbo,” Oluchukwu added.
The group expressed dismay over Umahi’s “denial” of South East marginalization and described him as “desperately eager to please his paymasters.”
“We are aware that as a man insipidly desperate to impress his paymasters, Umahi is only interested in recouping gains and lots to be shared between him and his paymasters and not sincerely interested in actualizing the many bogus projects the administration has embarked upon such as the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway among others.”
AEISCID said no major federal road project in the region had been completed nearly two years into the Tinubu administration, citing the Enugu-Port Harcourt, Enugu-Onitsha, and Afikpo-Okigwe highways as examples.
“It is visible to even the blind that works have been ongoing on some of the roads awarded for nearly two years, leaving road users with struggles to use only a section of these roads. We recall that the above sad scenario was responsible for the Ugwu Onyeama accident in Enugu that claimed several lives,” the statement noted.
Dismissing Umahi’s claim of influence over South East governors, the group said, “We wish to hint the Tinubu administration of the very fact that the same egoistical Umahi has no political relevance to command, influence or commandeer leaders of the South East region on a political path to tow come 2027.”
Citing Umahi’s controversial 2023 senatorial election, the group alleged he lost the election in his Ebonyi South zone despite being a sitting governor.
“Of course, we know how he allegedly used the influences of security agents and INEC’s top brass to be declared the winner of that Senatorial election he has manifestly lost before midday.”
They questioned his political weight and credibility within the region, suggesting that no serious South East political stakeholder would take instructions from him.
“In terms of political weight and influence, Tinubu ought to have known that Umahi weighs far below the average… We ask; what was his achievement as the longest-serving Chairman of South East Governors Forum?”
The group warned President Tinubu not to be misled, saying, “Umahi is trying to strategically position himself as a leader and a spokesperson of the South-east region he has zero influence on.”
