VIDEO: ‘I DON’T NEED PRESIDENTIAL TICKET TO EDUCATE YOU,’ UMAHI REPLIES OBI
Read Time:2 Minute, 19 Second
By: Muftau Fatimo
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has stated that holding a presidential ticket is not an achievement, insisting that he does not need to be a presidential candidate to engage the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in a debate.
Umahi made the statement in a video shared on Sunday by Imran Muhammad, following Obi’s rejection of the minister’s invitation for a public debate on their records as former governors.
Responding to Obi’s position that only presidential candidates should engage in presidential debates, Umahi said his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election made him part of the 2027 ticket.
“I’ve told him that I’m on the ballot,” the minister said.
“You know, when President Bola Tinubu is on the ballot, I’m on the ballot. Because I don’t want this project to stop. I want it to be completed. So I want all of us together to win with President Bola Tinubu.”
Umahi dismissed the notion that holding a presidential ticket was a measure of accomplishment.
“I don’t know what is the big deal about being a presidential candidate… So to be a presidential candidate is not an achievement,” he said.
The minister also defended his stewardship in the works ministry, insisting he did not need to contest for the presidency to explain the Tinubu administration’s infrastructure projects.
“So I don’t need to be a presidential candidate to educate you, as a professor in infrastructure, educate you, His Excellency, Peter Obi on infrastructure, as regards to what President Bola Tinubu is doing,” he said.
He accused Obi of misrepresenting ongoing road projects by visiting construction sites and portraying them as abandoned.
“You cannot come to Summit Junction to the old head bridge, and you stood on a point that has been cleared… So you went there and stood. So it’s comedy, you know, it’s comedy, content creation and AI politics,” Umahi said.
The minister maintained that he remained ready for a public debate, adding, “I’m still ready… unless you are His Excellency Peter Obi, I will not debate with any other person other than him as far as that is concerned.”
The latest remarks follow an exchange between the two politicians over Umahi’s challenge to compare their records in office.
Obi, a former Anambra State governor, had rejected the invitation during an interview with media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo, arguing that presidential debates were meant for presidential candidates. He likened the situation to “a football team that qualified for the FIFA World Cup being challenged by one that failed to qualify.”
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