Politics
South-East Region ‘No Longer Obidient’ — Umahi Mocks Peter Obi, Pledges 2027 Vote to Tinubu
Minister of Works and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, has made a striking political declaration, asserting that the South-East region, particularly Ebonyi State, has shifted its allegiance away from the Obidient Movement and will solidly back President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
Umahi delivered the highly charged political commentary during the Ohanivo 2025 New Yam Festival held in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The Minister did not mince words when dismissing the political influence of the Labour Party’s Peter Obi in the region.
“We are not Obidient people. We have been so marginalized that we are no longer Obidient. No, we are not,” Umahi stated emphatically, directly challenging the notion that the South-East remains firmly committed to the movement. He insisted that there is “no Obidient person in Ebonyi State.”
The Minister justified the pivot by praising the current administration, stating that President Bola Tinubu has given the South-East “a sense of belonging.”
He continued: “But it is the man that has given us a sense of belonging, President Bola Tinubu. Let it not be that we are from Ebonyi State and they are saying this state belongs to us. There is no Obidient person in Ebonyi State.”
Umahi went on to assure the President that the region would reciprocate his perceived positive actions with votes in 2027. He described the outcome of the last election in the South-East as “a mistake” but insisted the region had grown “wiser.”
“What we have to do is to record the good things that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done for South-East and Ebonyi State when the time comes,” he said. “We will not be deceived again because the last election was a mistake but we have come to be wiser. I will not finish naming all that the President is doing for us.”
This aggressive and public endorsement by a key cabinet member of the APC is likely to escalate the political rivalry between the ruling party and the opposition Labour Party ahead of the next presidential contest.
