Senator David Umahi, Minister of Works, has stated that President Bola Tinubu has ended the long-standing marginalisation of the South-East region in Nigeria’s politics and infrastructure, as declared during a civic reception in his honour by the Okposi Okwu community in Ebonyi State.
The community acknowledged the minister’s efforts in promoting social harmony, economic empowerment, and infrastructural development in the region.
For decades, Nigeria’s South-East region has expressed concerns about being marginalized politically and in terms of infrastructure, despite being one of the country’s three main ethnic groups.
The region has consistently maintained that federal neglect, especially in infrastructure, has contributed to a growing sense of alienation.
Umahi praised President Tinubu, through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, for achieving an equitable distribution of democracy dividends across the six geopolitical zones, thereby ending decades of exclusion.
“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.Nigerian cultural tours
The minister’s appointment as Minister of Works, a first in Nigeria’s post-independence history, represents a significant step towards greater inclusion, he said.
The minister also pointed to the numerous ongoing road infrastructure projects in the South-East as evidence of the president’s commitment to addressing historical inequalities.
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 in attendance were Senator Pius Anyim, former Senate President and ex-SGF, former Governors Martin Elechi and Olusegun Osoba, and Chief Emma Enukwu, National Vice Chairman (South-East) of the APC.
