Opposition has no place in Ebonyi, say Yilwatda, Nwifuru

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and the Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, on Monday declared that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party has no place in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Yilwatda and Nwifuru made the declaration at the Abakaliki Township Stadium during the endorsement rally for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The event was organised by Nwifuru and the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi and attended by the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo; his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodimma; and the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, who represented Governor Peter Mbah, and expressed support for Tinubu’s re-election.

The APC national chairman and the Ebonyi governor used the occasion to dismiss growing speculation in some quarters that the state had been conceded to the PDP ahead of the 2027 elections.

Dismissing the claim, Yilwatda said the state would not allow the PDP to win any position in the forthcoming elections.

“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 House of Representatives members and all House of Assembly candidates in 2027.

“Nobody has conceded Ebonyi to the PDP. Therefore, there is no vacancy in Ebonyi State. The PDP has no place in Ebonyi, and there is no vacancy at all in the Government House in 2027,” the APC national chairman declared.

He commended the people of the state for their support for Tinubu and urged them to return him to office in 2027 in appreciation of what he described as the President’s contributions to the state and the South-East through infrastructural development and human capital investment.

Nwifuru, speaking at the event, said the state had no other presidential candidate for the 2027 election apart from Tinubu.

He declared that Ebonyi remained an APC state and vowed that the party would deliver the President in the state.

Nwifuru said Tinubu deserved the state’s support, citing the appointment of Umahi as Minister of Works and his performance in office.

“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 Mr President’s name to orchestrate division and confusion in this great state, that we have only one party, and that is the APC.

“This statement became necessary because some people are going around claiming they have discussed with Mr President and that he has handed Ebonyi over to the PDP. They are also saying that Chief Nyesom Wike is their leader and that Wike said the President has given Ebonyi to him.

“Ebonyi is not for sale. We are only exercising restraint because the people are with us. Nobody should push us because we have what it takes to resist anyone trying to destabilise 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 idle; he is working,” he said.

Also speaking, Umahi said Tinubu had done more for Ebonyi State and the South-East than any previous president through numerous infrastructural projects across the region.

“Ebonyi State is a one-party state under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru. We are not going to make another mistake like in the past.

“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.