Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will be re-elected in 2027, saying he has faith in God that the president will return for a second term.
Umahi, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said Tinubu’s performance and the difficult economic situation he inherited were reasons for Nigerians to give him another mandate.
“I have faith in God that God will return him,” the minister declared when asked what gave him the impression that Nigerians might re-elect Tinubu in 2027. “Power belongs to God, and God brought him.”
He said Tinubu assumed office at a particularly challenging period and had been confronted with several obstacles. Umahi dismissed suggestions that his assessment was based merely on loyalty to his principal, saying the president was “doing very well” and that his economic reforms, though painful, were necessary to rescue the country.
The minister acknowledged that the reforms had brought hardship to many Nigerians, particularly vulnerable citizens, but argued that the measures were required to address the country’s economic problems. He urged that the administration be judged against the economic situation it inherited, noting that Nigerians should compare key economic indices from when Tinubu assumed office with the current figures.
Umahi also said the Federal Government would complete four major legacy road projects within the next three years “by God’s special grace.” He listed the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto–Badagry Road, the Trans-Sahara/Trans-Harada corridor and the Akwanga–Jos Road among the major projects being pursued as part of an interconnected road network to drive economic activity across the country.
He defended the administration’s record on inherited road projects, saying Tinubu inherited 2,068 projects valued at about N13 trillion when he took office in 2023. According to the minister, about 80 per cent of the projects currently being executed by his ministry were inherited from the previous administration. Umahi said the president had directed him not to abandon inherited projects because many were located on major economic corridors.
On the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway — which has attracted controversy over cost, procurement and financing — Umahi rejected allegations of wrongdoing and said he was prepared to take responsibility for the procurement process. He disclosed that the first section of the project, covering 47.47 kilometres, had been completed, while work on the second section was nearing completion.
Umahi said the government was financing the legacy projects through Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) arrangements, with the Federal Government providing 30 per cent and the remaining 70 per cent sourced through external financing. He said Deutsche Bank provided financing for Section One of the coastal highway, and that the facility was oversubscribed by $100 million.
The minister also said the reforms and infrastructure projects were intended to lay the foundation for long-term economic prosperity, and argued that the current administration should not be judged solely by the immediate hardship accompanying its policies.
Umahi warned works controllers never to close any road or bridge without permission, stressing the importance of keeping major transport corridors open to support the economy.
His declaration is one of the clearest expressions yet from a senior member of the administration of confidence in Tinubu’s return to office in 2027, even as Nigerians continue to grapple with cost-of-living pressures arising from the government’s economic reforms.
