The Endorsement Nobody Ordered
Chief Modestus Umenzekwe, a prominent Igbo leader and All Progressives Congress chieftain from Anambra State, has come out firmly in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Nation, Umenzekwe argued that the Southeast has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the current APC administration — and that ignoring this fact would be a political mistake.
His comments land at a sensitive moment. Many in the Southeast remain deeply ambivalent about Tinubu’s government, and some Igbo political figures are already positioning themselves for a 2027 presidential run. Umenzekwe is not telling them to stand down. He is, however, making the case that the record deserves honest scrutiny.
The Two Gifts Umenzekwe Points To
The Southeast Development Commission
The centrepiece of Umenzekwe’s argument is the establishment of the Southeast Development Commission (SEDC). The commission mirrors similar bodies set up for other geopolitical zones and is intended to channel federal resources into infrastructure, economic development and post-conflict reconstruction across the five Igbo states. For a region that has long complained of federal neglect, this is not a trivial gesture.
Umenzekwe framed the SEDC within a broader language of “rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation” — a direct reference to the unresolved wounds of the civil war era. Whether the commission delivers on that promise is a separate question. Its creation, he argues, signals intent.
Ministerial Clout and the Aviation School
The second gift, in Umenzekwe’s telling, is the appointment of Senator Dave Umahi to head the Federal Ministry of Works — one of the most powerful and resource-heavy ministries in the country. He also pointed to the establishment of an aviation school in the Southeast as a concrete institutional investment. These, he argued, represent meaningful federal presence in a zone that has often felt sidelined.
“Ndigbo are one of the greatest beneficiaries of the present APC administration,” Umenzekwe said, adding that infrastructural development across the zone further reinforced his position.
The Broader Case for Re-election
Umenzekwe did not rest his argument on Southeast-specific benefits alone. He cited the fuel subsidy removal as a driver of improved state funding, pointing to the increased revenue flowing to state governments since the policy took effect. He also referenced local government autonomy, the student loan scheme, the Electricity Act of 2023 and ongoing infrastructure projects as evidence of a government that is, in his view, performing.
“The legacy projects and policies of the Tinubu administration are too numerous to mention,” he said. “Anyone who does not support his re-election bid in 2027 will be making a great mistake because he has no opposition, at least for now.”
That is a bold claim. It reflects a particular reading of the political landscape — one that not everyone shares — but it is the reading of a man who has clearly decided which side of this argument he stands on.
The Sovereignty Question: Igbo Presidency Still on the Table
Importantly, Umenzekwe was careful to separate his endorsement of Tinubu from any suggestion that the Southeast should abandon its own presidential ambitions. He stated plainly that Tinubu’s achievements do not preclude any Igbo citizen from contesting the 2027 presidency. It is their constitutional right, he said, and no amount of federal patronage changes that.
This is a meaningful distinction. The argument that the Southeast should be grateful enough to step aside has circulated in Nigerian political discourse before. Umenzekwe is not making that argument. He is making a different one: that Tinubu has delivered, and that delivery should be rewarded — while Igbo political agency remains intact.
What This Endorsement Actually Means
Umenzekwe is not a household name nationally, but his public stance matters in the context of APC politics in the Southeast. The party has struggled to consolidate its base in the zone, and voices like his are useful to a presidency seeking to broaden its 2027 coalition.
The harder question is whether the SEDC, Umahi’s ministerial role and an aviation school are sufficient to shift sentiment in a region where grievances run deep and where many citizens remain sceptical of federal promises. Development commissions have existed before. The proof will be in what the SEDC actually builds, funds and delivers — not in the announcement itself.
Umenzekwe’s endorsement is real, and his reasoning is coherent. But it represents one voice in a conversation that the Southeast has not yet finished having with itself.