Minister of Works, David Umahi, says President Bola Tinubu has effectively ended the long standing political and infrastructural marginalisation of the Southeast region.
He stated this while speaking at a public event where he reviewed federal projects and appointments linked to the zone.
Umahi explained that, under Tinubu, the Southeast is receiving more federal attention than at any other time since the return to democracy in 1999.
According to him, previous administrations did not give the region the level of inclusion and investment it is currently enjoying.
He pointed to his own appointment as Minister of Works as a major signal of change, describing it as the first time since independence that someone from the Southeast is heading the ministry.
Umahi said this position has allowed the region to have a stronger voice in national infrastructure planning and execution.
The minister listed several ongoing federal road projects in the zone, including the Enugu Onitsha, Port Harcourt Aba and Aba Umuahia highways, as evidence of Tinubu’s commitment.
He noted that contracts worth over N350 billion are being executed across the Southeast, ending what he called the era of abandoned roads.
Umahi argued that these projects, alongside other federal interventions, show that the narrative of continued marginalisation no longer reflects the current reality.
He described some renewed claims of exclusion as politically motivated and not based on facts on the ground.
The minister also said that Tinubu has ensured a more balanced spread of federal appointments and development programmes across all six geopolitical zones, including the Southeast.
He thanked the President for what he called equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy.
Umahi urged people of the region to focus on development and integration rather than agitation or separatist sentiments.
He maintained that meaningful infrastructure and economic growth offer a more realistic path to justice and respect for the Southeast within Nigeria.
He further called on Southeast leaders and citizens to support Tinubu’s administration and to mobilise politically in his favour in the next general elections as a way of reciprocating the support.
According to him, sustaining the current level of federal attention depends partly on continued cooperation between the region and the centre.
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