The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has insisted that he does not need to be a presidential candidate to debate the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, arguing that holding a presidential ticket is not an achievement.
Umahi made the remarks in a video shared on Sunday by Imran Muhammad, days after Obi declined the minister’s invitation for a public debate on their records as former governors.
Responding to Obi’s argument that only presidential candidates should participate in presidential debates, Umahi said his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election placed him firmly within the 2027 political contest.
“I’ve told him that I’m on the ballot,” Umahi said.
“When President Bola Tinubu is on the ballot, I’m on the ballot because I don’t want this project to stop. I want it to be completed. So I want all of us together to win with President Bola Tinubu.”
The minister dismissed the suggestion that becoming a presidential candidate represented a significant political achievement.
“I don’t know what is the big deal about being a presidential candidate… So to be a presidential candidate is not an achievement,” he said.
Umahi also defended his performance as works minister, saying he did not need to contest for the presidency to explain the infrastructure projects of the Tinubu administration.
“I don’t need to be a presidential candidate to educate you, as a professor in infrastructure, educate you, His Excellency Peter Obi, on infrastructure, as regards to what President Bola Tinubu is doing,” he said.
He accused Obi of misrepresenting government projects by visiting construction sites and presenting them as abandoned.
“You cannot come to Summit Junction, to the old head bridge, and stand on a point that has been cleared… So you went there and stood. So it’s comedy, content creation and AI politics,” Umahi said.
The minister maintained that he remained open to a public debate with Obi, stressing that he would not engage any other individual on the matter.
“I’m still ready… unless you are His Excellency Peter Obi, I will not debate with any other person other than him as far as that is concerned,” he said.
The exchange followed Umahi’s earlier challenge to compare records with Obi, who served as governor of Anambra State.
Obi, in an interview with media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo, rejected the invitation, arguing that presidential debates were reserved for candidates contesting the nation’s highest office. He compared the situation to “a football team that qualified for the FIFA World Cup being challenged by one that failed to qualify.”
Watch video here:
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) July 12, 2026
Credit: X | Imran Muhammad pic.twitter.com/FYzDB6ZmgX
