Minister of Works David Umahi has dismissed claims by Peter Obi that his life is under threat, saying nobody wants the Labour Party presidential candidate dead.
Umahi said Obi would “be alive to contest the 2027 presidential election and lose again.”
The minister spoke on Friday in Ebonyi State while inspecting federal road projects, according to ThisDay.
Obi had alleged on Wednesday that he received threats over his criticism of the federal government and raised concerns about the political climate.
Umahi described Obi’s allegation as “a sign of frustration,” insisting there was no plot against him.
“Nobody wants Obi dead; it’s not just reasonable. We all want him alive to contest this election and watch himself lose again,” Umahi said.
He argued that Obi’s fears stemmed from his assumption that the South-East remains his political stronghold after the 2023 polls.
“What he is afraid of is because he said South-East is his catchment area because of the last election, which I call accident of history,” the former Ebonyi governor said.
Umahi claimed President Bola Tinubu’s infrastructure projects and appointments in the South-East had shifted the region’s political outlook.
“We have come with visible development in the zone, and our people have now agreed with us that we are better off with President Tinubu to complete the good works he is doing for us than playing Artificial Intelligence (AI) kind of politics,” he said.
The minister also restated his readiness to debate Obi on the Tinubu administration’s performance and what he called the federal government’s “inclusive approach” to the South-East.