President Bola Tinubu's re-election efforts are gaining momentum in the Southeast, where Works Minister Dave Umahi convened a meeting of former governors in Enugu. The gathering, held two days ago, led to the formation of the Southeast Former Governors' Forum (SFGF), an initiative spearheaded by Umahi from his home base in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. Attendees included Martin Elechi, Sullivan Chime, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Chris Ngige. The group issued a communique expressing support for Tinubu, citing appointments of Southeasterners in his administration and an alleged infrastructure revolution in the region. Umahi, who previously served as Ebonyi governor, has become a vocal advocate for Tinubu, often integrating presidential praise into official functions. He recently awarded a fifteen trillion naira contract without public bidding, drawing scrutiny. Critics describe his actions as politically motivated, particularly his push to rally Southeast leaders behind Tinubu. Not all former governors attended, with several notable absences suggesting internal divisions. While the forum claims to be nonpartisan, its alignment with Tinubu's agenda is unmistakable.
Dave Umahi is not just promoting President Tinubu—he is reshaping the political architecture of the Southeast in real time, using state resources and former officeholders as props. By founding the Southeast Former Governors' Forum and scripting its debut in Abakaliki, Umahi positioned himself as the gatekeeper of Igbo political loyalty, despite having zero electoral mandate from the wider region. His swift pivot from Ebonyi's governor to Tinubu's chief regional recruiter reveals a calculated effort to centralise influence, especially as 2027 approaches.
The forum's claim of a sweeping infrastructure revolution rings hollow when no specific projects are named, and when gas infrastructure remains absent in the Southeast despite industrial use elsewhere. Umahi's fifteen trillion naira contract, awarded without competitive bidding to a little-known firm with reported ties to Nigeria's first family, deepens suspicions that development spending serves political patronage more than public need. That Chris Ngige, once distant from Tinubu's circle, now aligns with this effort suggests survival instincts are driving political shifts, not policy conviction.
Ordinary Southeast residents, long sceptical of federal inclusion, are unlikely to be swayed by a forum that feels staged and selective. The absence of key former governors exposes the fragility of this coalition, reducing it to a platform for sidelined figures and political dependents. For unemployed youth and business owners in Enugu or Aba, what matters is electricity, jobs and equity—not orchestrated endorsements.
This is not an isolated event but part of a broader pattern: the instrumentalisation of regional bodies to serve presidential ambitions, often at the expense of authentic representation.
