Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has stated that President Bola Tinubu has broken the long-standing jinx of marginalisation suffered by the South-East region in Nigeria’s political and infrastructural landscape.
Umahi made the declaration over the weekend during a civic reception organised in his honour by the Okposi Okwu community in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The community recognized the minister for his contributions to social harmony, economic empowerment, and infrastructural development in the area.
For decades, the South-East region has voiced concerns over being politically and infrastructurally sidelined despite being one of Nigeria’s three major ethnic groups.
The region has consistently maintained that federal neglect, especially in infrastructure, has contributed to a growing sense of alienation.
However, Umahi, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, applauded President Tinubu for “ending decades of exclusion” through what he described as an equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy across all six geopolitical zones.
“The Minister thanked the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for breaking the jinx of marginalisation in the South-East through equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy,” the statement read.The minister said his appointment as Minister of Works—a first in Nigeria’s post-independence history—symbolized a significant shift in inclusion.
The Minister also cited the ongoing “numerous road infrastructural interventions” across the South-East as evidence of the President’s commitment to correcting historical imbalances.
He urged the region to mobilize in support of President Tinubu in the 2027 general election as a way of reciprocating the goodwill.Key political figures from across Nigeria attended the reception, including Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu, and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
Also present were former Senate President and ex-SGF Senator Pius Anyim, former Governors Martin Elechi and Olusegun Osoba, and Chief Emma Enukwu, National Vice Chairman (South-East) of the APC.
