2027:No Vacancy in Ebonyi as APC Denies Ceding Governorship to PDP
Minister of the FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike, and Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State.
From Nabob Ogbonna, Abakaliki
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has dismissed claims that the governorship position in Ebonyi State has been ceded to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 elections.
His clarification followed rumours in some quarters that the ruling APC had reached an agreement with a faction of the PDP led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, to concede the Ebonyi governorship and some other elective positions in 2027.
Yilwatda stated that there was no such arrangement and insisted that there was no vacancy for opposition parties in the 2027 elections.
He made the clarification yesterday at the Abakaliki Township Stadium during an event where the state endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid for 2027.
The event was organised by Governor Francis Nwifuru and the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.
The APC National Chairman, who reaffirmed support for President Tinubu and Governor Nwifuru as the party’s preferred candidates, declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had no place in the state in the 2027 general elections.
According to him:”We will return President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Francis Nwifuru as Governor of Ebonyi State in 2027.
“We want to return all APC senators, all members of the House of Representatives, and all House of Assembly candidates in 2027.
“Nobody has conceded Ebonyi to the PDP. Therefore, there is no vacancy in Ebonyi State. Ebonyi PDP has no place, and there is no vacancy at all in the Ebonyi Government House come 2027,” he said.
Yilwatda, who also commended the people of the state for their support for the President, urged them to vote for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
He noted that doing so would serve as a payback for the numerous road infrastructure projects, appointments, and human capital development initiatives the President had undertaken in the state and across the South-East.
Governor Francis Nwifuru, also speaking at the event, said the state had no other presidential candidate for the 2027 general election apart from President Bola Tinubu.
He declared that Ebonyi was firmly an APC state and vowed that the party would deliver the President in the state.
Nwifuru said Tinubu had paid a price for the state and deserved its total support, particularly for appointing Senator David Umahi as Minister of Works, a position in which he said Umahi had performed creditably.
“Ebonyi has no other presidential candidate other than President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and we will return him in the presidential election.
“We are standing here today to tell the whole world, especially those who have used the President’s name to orchestrate division and confusion in this great state, that we have only one party, and that is the APC,” Nwifuru stated.
The governor, however, stressed that the state’s governorship position in 2027 was not for sale. He insisted that the state had all it takes to withstand and defeat anyone attempting to create division among its people.
“Some people are going around saying they have discussed with Mr. President and that he has given Ebonyi to the PDP. They are also saying that Chief Nyesom Wike is their leader and that Wike said the President has handed Ebonyi over to him.
“Ebonyi is not for sale. We are only restraining ourselves because the people are with us. Nobody should push us because we have all it takes to consume whoever is trying us; we have all it takes to destroy whoever is trying us.
“We want to tell Mr. President that he has paid a price to deserve our votes. He gave us what we have never had in Eastern Nigeria — the Minister of Works. And this Minister of Works is not sitting down; he is a working Minister of Works,” he stated.
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, said President Bola Tinubu had done what no other President had done for Ebonyi State and the entire South-East by executing numerous projects across the state and the zone.
“Ebonyi State is a one-party state under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru. We are not going to make another mistake like we did in the past, when there were accidents of history.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done a lot, not just for Ebonyi State but for the entire South-East and other geopolitical zones,” he said.
The event, which led to the closure of the state’s international market, ministries, and schools, disrupted human and vehicular movement within the capital city, Abakaliki.
Insideoutnews learnt that supporters were mobilised from the state’s 171 registered wards by stakeholders to attend the event.
Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo; his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma; and the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, who was represented by his deputy, attended the event and declared their support for the President’s re-election.
