The member representing Ishielu/Ezza North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Joseph Nwobasi, and former Ebonyi Central Senator, Senator Joseph Obinna Ogba, have expressed confidence that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will dominate the forthcoming local government elections and the 2027 general elections in Ebonyi state.
While Nwobasi pledged 100 per cent support for the APC in the August 22 council election and 2027 polls, Ogba declared that Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has no serious challenger and predicted that Ishielu Local Government Area would lead the state’s 13 councils in returning him for a second term.
The two APC chieftains spoke on Tuesday during the party’s campaign rally at the Ishielu Local Government headquarters, Ezillo, where they also expressed confidence in the re-election of the incumbent council chairman, Mrs Peace Agwu.
Nwobasi said his confidence in the APC was based on his knowledge of developments in rural communities, villages and polling units across Ebonyi, stressing that his assessment was informed by direct grassroots interactions.
“I am giving APC 100 per cent in this forthcoming local government election and also in the upcoming general election in 2027,” he said.
Ogba, a two-term senator, former PDP governorship aspirant and former PDP state chairman who is now an APC chieftain, said the ruling party had no formidable opposition in Ishielu, predicting victory in the August 22 council election and a decisive victory for Nwifuru in 2027.
“APC is the only party ruling Ishielu Local Government Area. There is no other party that can beat APC in this local government and, by extension, in the governorship election and others,” Ogba declared.
He described Mrs Agwu’s re-election as “non-negotiable” and said Ishielu would be the first of the 13 local government areas to return Nwifuru for a second term, attributing the governor’s expected victory to his achievements and peaceful coexistence in the state.
Ogba also cited the state’s rotational power-sharing arrangement, arguing that former governors Sam Egwu, Martin Elechi and David Umahi served two terms and that Nwifuru should similarly complete eight years before power shifts to another zone in 2031.
He dismissed the potential challenge from PDP governorship aspirant, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, questioning the opposition party’s preparedness and citing alleged divisions within the PDP.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of Ezekoma Development Centre, Hon. Mrs Nwankwo Chinasa, said the APC enjoyed overwhelming grassroots support in the area, while expressing confidence in Mrs Agwu’s re-election and promising improved development under her administration.
However, when questioned about allegations of intimidation and harassment of opposition supporters and journalists in Ezza, Nwobasi said he was unaware of the alleged incidents, stressing that he could not comment on matters he had neither witnessed nor received information about.
“This is my first time of hearing that there is an issue somewhere in Ezza. I have not heard it, I have not seen it and I have not witnessed it in any way,” he said.