The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi and Members of the OBIdient Movement in Ebonyi State have disagreed over the 2027 Presidential Election and the support of Ebonyi electorates for the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi.
Senator Umahi who described the overwhelming support given to Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi, in the 2023 polls as a political mistake maintained that the Southeast will rally behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Umahi made the disclosure at the weekend during the Ohanivo 2025 New Yam Festival in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
He said that the outcome of the next general election would be different, as the influence of the OBIdient Movement in the Southeast had waned.
The Former Governor noted that years of marginalisation made many believe the OBIdient wave represented the region’s political identity adding that President Tinubu’s administration has altered that perception by giving the Southeast a sense of belonging.
“We are not OBIdient people. We have been so marginalised that we are no longer OBIdient. No, we are not. It is President Bola Tinubu who has given us a sense of belonging. There is no OBIdient person in Ebonyi State,”.
He urged the people of the Southeast to reciprocate what he described as Tinubu’s goodwill to the region by ensuring overwhelming support for his re-election in 2027.
“What we must do is to acknowledge and record the good things President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done for the Southeast and Ebonyi State in particular when the time comes. We will not be deceived again because the last election was a mistake. This time, we are wiser,” he added.
But in a swift reaction, a member of the OBIdient Movement and the 2023 Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party, Comrade Splendor Oko Eze described the statement credited to Senator Umahi as false and misleading adding that the State is now more OBIdient than ever before.
“The statement credited to Engr. David Umahi is not true. Ebonyi State is fully Obidient. If he could not stop us from winning the State for Peter Obi when he was the Governor (2023), is it now that he is no longer the Governor that he will stop us?.
“He begged the OBIdient Movement to allow him get 25% votes for President Tinubu/APC which we did but now he has started making noise about 2027. Let me inform him that we will not allow him to get up to 15% votes for President Bola Tinubu come 2027.
“Obidients in Ebonyi State will shock him. Our votes are for Peter Obi not Tinubu. Thank God, Senator Umahi acknowledged the fact that they made a mistake in 2023 and failed woefully in Ebonyi State.
Comrade Eze urged Ebonyi Voters to continue to support the Presidential ambition of Mr. Peter Obi adding that he is the preferred candidate to reposition and turn the country around.
The LP National Assembly Candidate in the 2023 general election, Mr. Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, said that the future of Nigeria’s opposition and indeed the nation’s political direction rests squarely on the choices of Mr. Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 general election.
“Nigerians across diverse backgrounds—students, traders, artisans, and professionals have embraced Obi not merely as a candidate but as a movement. “Belief in politics is more powerful than machinery, and Obi commands that belief,”. Ends.
