The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has called on Igbo communities at home and in the diaspora to abandon renewed calls for a separate Biafran nation, insisting that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has addressed the historical concerns that originally fueled such agitations.
Speaking during a late Saturday inspection tour of major federal infrastructure projects along the Enugu–Anambra Road, Umahi argued that the demand for secession was rooted in years of marginalisation, political exclusion, and lack of federal presence in the South-East, conditions he said no longer define the region’s place in Nigeria.
Okay News reports that the former Ebonyi State Governor addressed community leaders, contractors, and regional stakeholders during the inspection, using the occasion to highlight what he described as unprecedented inclusion of Ndigbo in national governance under the current administration.
According to Umahi, successive agitations for Biafra were not necessarily about breaking away from Nigeria but were a response to the feeling of being invisible within the federal structure. He stressed that the Tinubu-led Federal Government has reversed that narrative through deliberate appointments, policy participation, and large-scale infrastructure investments in the South-East.
“When a people are fully integrated, respected and empowered within the structure of the nation, the dream they once chased through agitation has already been achieved through cooperation,” Umahi said.
He added, “The push for Biafran secession over the years was borne out of neglect, exclusion and underrepresentation, but today the narrative has changed dramatically under President Bola Tinubu. The President has deliberately opened the doors of national development to the South-East. Appointments, policy inputs and infrastructure priorities now reflect true federal balance.”
The minister pointed to his appointment as Minister of Works, alongside other prominent Igbo figures holding strategic positions at the federal level, as evidence that the South-East has received what he described as its rightful share in national leadership.
Umahi further noted that federal infrastructure projects, once considered unrealistic in the region, are now underway across the five South-East states, reinforcing what he called a renewed federal commitment to the zone.
“Every sector now bears visible Igbo footprints. The emergence of Igbo sons and daughters in strategic positions is a testament to this inclusion,” he said.
He also linked this renewed engagement to the political alignment of several South-East leaders with the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government, citing Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, as an example of regional leaders prioritising development over political rivalry.
“Biafra was never about breaking Nigeria; it was about being counted in Nigeria,” Umahi stated. “Through inclusion, equity and concrete development, Ndigbo are no longer spectators in the Nigerian project; they are co-authors of its future. When justice finds a people, agitation loses its voice.”
Reiterating his earlier position expressed in September during the inspection of the Enugu–Benue dual carriageway at Ninth Mile Corner, Umahi urged the South-East to rally behind President Tinubu, describing the administration’s investments as proof that the region has not been forgotten.
