Chinedu Nwafor,Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon. Uchenna Stephen Igwe, has declared Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru as the sole viable governorship candidate in the state ahead of the 2027 election, describing contenders from other parties as “mere place-holders”.
Speaking in an interview ahead of the governor’s third-year anniversary, Igwe said Nwifuru’s record of projects and welfare programmes gives him the strongest chance of re-election in Nigeria.
“Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has the greatest chance of re-election in Nigeria. His projects in both the state capital and the hinterlands as well as the welfare programmes are banners of re-election over his second term bid.
“You can see that no other political party is contesting Ebonyi governorship in 2027. What you have in other political parties are mere place-holders. Nwifuru is the only candidate,” Igwe said.
Igwe highlighted the governor’s legacy achievements over three years, including brokering peace in communities affected by communal conflicts and democratizing grassroots governance to allow communities elect traditional rulers and town union executives.
In education, he cited the establishment of Nigeria’s first ICT University in Agbaja and the Ebonyi State University of Aeronautics and Aerospace Engineering at Onueke, construction of 39 model schools, recruitment of over 2,000 teachers, and revival of postgraduate scholarships for more than 1,000 students locally and abroad.
On infrastructure, the commissioner listed the Abakaliki inland road network, 23km Ezillo-Ezzaegu road, 23.5km Stadium-Nwofe road, 2km roads in 67 rural communities, and an ongoing three-storey overhead bridge. He also noted payment of gratuity arrears since the state’s creation, bonuses for civil servants, youth empowerment for agriculture, health sector overhaul, and tax waivers for small-scale enterprises.
“These are why Ebonyi is not restive and is the only State that did not experience the hunger strikes that swept across the nation,” Igwe said.
Governor Nwifuru, who won on the APC platform in 2023, is preparing to begin the final year of his first term.