Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi has identified resolution of the incessant farmer/herder crisis among the achievements recorded by President Bola Tinubu-led administration in the South-East region.
Umahi also urged the people of the zone to continue supporting President Tinubu to triumph in the 2027 general election.
The minister stated this in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital on Sunday evening while speaking with journalists after the Sallah homage to him by the Muslim community in the state.
“The performances of the President must definitely see him through in 2027. We will stand with him, we will support him. You know when I was Governor, you talk about herdsmen problem, do you still encounter the herdsmen problem as it was? No.
“That is the one thing the President has done for South-East people. We are being gradually integrated. What Igbo man never had before, we are beginning to have it,” Umahi said.
He said the President has integrated the zone in the affairs of the nation through appointments of sons and daughters of the zone and quality projects.
“President Tinubu has integrated South-East. Before now, there was no federal projects in Ebonyi State, but you can see everywhere, there are federal projects in all the South-East. Is that not integration?
“For President Bola Tinubu to give an Igbo man Minister of Works, Chief of Naval Staff, Minister of Science and Technology, is it not integration?
“So, we need to be properly integrated, other people have been integrated and that’s why you are seeing them shouting and making more demands.
“But let’s work together by supporting this President that has integrated us. The South-East must stand with President Bola Tinubu because he has integrated us.”
Umahi, a former Governor of Ebonyi State also commended the President for fostering what he described as an “unprecedented” level of interfaith harmony and national integration in Nigeria.
He highlighted the administration’s religious and ethnic inclusiveness, which he said has reached an “excellent level.”
“The relationship between faiths in Nigeria is much better now. It surprised many Christians when the President led a Nigerian delegation to the Pope’s inauguration. That was very unique and historic. That singular gesture is a symbol of genuine respect for all faiths.
The Minister emphasised the foundation of all religions as love, and urged Nigerians to focus on common values rather than differences. “We all serve one God in different ways. Both Muslims and Christians preach love and the fear of God,” he stated.
On the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, Umahi cited religious balance in federal appointments as a significant indicator of inclusiveness.
“Christians currently hold about 62% of appointments under President Tinubu, while Muslims hold about 38%. That shows national cohesion in practice,” he explained.
