Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has publicly recounted a contentious episode where a dispute with a female landowner culminated in the government’s compulsory acquisition of her property. In a video statement, the minister asserted that the takeover was a direct response to the woman’s resistance, framing it as an act of decisive authority rather than a premeditated plan.
The remarks, spotted by Sahara Reporters, capture Umahi stating, **”I didn’t want to take the woman’s remaining land, but when she started making troubles, I said they should go and acquire the land. I’m the one, not any other person else.”** The admission suggests the acquisition was carried out as a punitive measure in reaction to the landowner’s challenge, raising immediate questions about the use of state power and due process in such transactions.
Political Rally For APC Dominance In The Southeast
The land acquisition anecdote was shared during a political gathering at the minister’s country home in Umunaga Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area. The event was convened to celebrate the primary election victory of his son, Osborne Nweze Umahi, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship candidate for the LGA. Seizing the moment, Umahi launched into a robust political endorsement, declaring the APC as the only party capable of delivering sustainable development to the Southeast geopolitical zone.
“Let everybody go and register in APC. There is no alternative,” Umahi urged, calling for a massive membership registration drive across the five southeastern states. He positioned the ruling party as the singular vehicle for the region’s political advancement, dismissing other avenues as ineffective.
Praising Tinubu, Dismissing “Sentiment” for “Concrete” Politics
Umahi commended President Bola Tinubu for addressing longstanding regional grievances, particularly the agitation for secession, which he attributed to “years of neglect.” **”The President has defied all the agitation from Biafra. We are not living on sentiments,”** he stated, arguing that the Southeast’s future hinges on participation and “concrete achievements” within the national political framework, not on protest.
He defended the federal government’s expansive road infrastructure projects as “transformational,” while assuring supporters that the current administration is correcting historical imbalances. On the region’s aspiration to produce a president, Umahi counseled patience, stating, **”The time of God is the right time,”** and urged unity under the APC platform to make that ambition a reality.
The minister’s twin messages—one depicting assertive state action in a land dispute, the other a full-throated political endorsement—have sparked discussions on governance, political strategy, and the dynamics of power in the Southeast as the nation looks toward future elections.
