{"id":929335,"date":"2026-08-24T16:14:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T21:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/24\/real-reason-obi-is-avoiding-debate-with-me-umahi\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T16:14:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T21:14:50","slug":"real-reason-obi-is-avoiding-debate-with-me-umahi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/24\/real-reason-obi-is-avoiding-debate-with-me-umahi\/","title":{"rendered":"Real reason Obi is avoiding debate with me \u2013 Umahi"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Minister of Works, David Umahi, has alleged that former Anambra State Governor and presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, turned down his invitation to a public debate because he believed he could not successfully defend his record in office against his own<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Umahi made the assertion in a statement released on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, in response to Obi\u2019s recent comments dismissing the minister\u2019s challenge.<\/p>\n

The minister had invited Obi to a public debate centred on their performances during their respective tenures as governors. Both men served two terms as governors before moving on to other political engagements.<\/p>\n

Obi, however, rejected the invitation during an interview with media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo, arguing that Umahi should first become a presidential candidate before calling him to such a debate.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:Onanuga: Obi fabricating stories to gain undue sympathy \u2014 Tinubu doesn\u2019t have time for him<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Obi, presidential debates are reserved for presidential candidates. He compared the situation to a football team that qualified for the FIFA World Cup being challenged by one that failed to qualify.<\/p>\n

Reacting to Obi\u2019s remarks, Umahi maintained that the proposed debate had nothing to do with political ambition or electoral status but was intended to allow Nigerians to assess their records in public office.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Nigerians expected what could have been one of the most consequential conversations on public service in recent times. Instead, Mr. Obi declined the invitation, explaining that he is currently a presidential candidate while Senator Umahi is not.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet the challenge was never about electoral status. It was about accountability. It was about inviting two former governors to present their records before Nigerians and allow the public to judge whose leadership produced the greater impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf governance is measured by performance, political ambition should not prevent an honest comparison of records,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Umahi further argued that his public service experience surpassed that of the former Anambra governor, listing his previous positions as state party chairman, deputy governor, governor, Chairman of the South-East Governors\u2019 Forum, Co-Chairman of the Southern Governors\u2019 Forum, senator and currently Minister of Works.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy contrast, Peter Obi\u2019s highest elective public office and entire experience has been Governor of Anambra State. Beyond that, he has not held any other executive or legislative public office. Not party chairman, not minister, and never a senator.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt every stage, Umahi\u2019s leadership was tested through elections, public scrutiny and increasing national responsibility,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

The minister also pointed to infrastructure projects undertaken during his administration in Ebonyi State, including roads, bridges, flyovers, hospitals and schools, as well as ongoing federal road projects being executed under his supervision as Minister of Works.<\/p>\n

He also criticised Obi\u2019s emphasis on financial prudence during his tenure in Anambra State, insisting that governance should be judged by visible development rather than savings alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping money in the bank while leaving contractors unpaid and failing to complete meaningful, life-impacting projects cannot, by itself, be regarded as an achievement. Ultimately, leadership is measured by the tangible improvements it delivers to the lives of the people,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Umahi further alleged that Obi administered Anambra State for much of his eight-year tenure without democratically elected local government chairmen, relying instead on caretaker committees until local government elections were conducted shortly before he left office.<\/p>\n

Reaffirming his readiness for the proposed engagement, the minister said he remained available to debate Obi on any credible platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne cannot credibly aspire to lead a nation as complex and demanding as Nigeria without a demonstrable record of performance as a governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cLikewise, it is difficult to convince Nigerians that you are prepared to challenge an administration led by a focused and determined President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when you are not even a match and cannot stand a debate with one of the key leaders of that administration on the basis of verifiable performance and achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigerians deserve the opportunity to evaluate records,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

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Minister of Works, David Umahi, has alleged that former Anambra State Governor and presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, turned down his invitation to a public debate because he believed he could not successfully defend his record in office against his own. Umahi made the assertion in a statement released on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":929336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32845,461],"tags":[19100,6509],"class_list":["post-929335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-avoiding","category-reason","tag-avoiding","tag-reason"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}