Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has dismissed reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu handed over the political control of the state to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Nwifuru, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke during a stakeholders’ rally in Abakaliki, the state capital, to endorse his re-election and President Tinubu’s second-term bid.
The governor said some unnamed allies of Wike had been claiming that the President had handed over Ebonyi State to the FCT minister and his faction of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“Some people are going about saying that they discussed with President Tinubu and the president has given Ebonyi to PDP,” Nwifuru said.
“They said their leader is Nyesom Wike and that Wike said the president has given Ebonyi to him. And we say to them, ‘eeyaah!’”
But Nwifuru debunked the alleged claim, insisting that Ebonyi was still firmly in the control of the APC.
He warned plotters not to underestimate the determination of his administration and supporters.
Now, as your governor, I want to sound like this: We’re not scared. “We hold ourselves only because our people are with us,” he said.
“Don’t push us because we have all it takes to eat whoever is trying us, we have all it takes to destroy whoever is trying us.
“We are sending a message to them directly or indirectly that we are members of the All Progressives Congress and that’s where Ebonyi people belong,” the governor added.
“And whoever wants to test our mettle, it will be a very funny outcome for him.
Nwifuru was flanked at the rally by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, and Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo.
Wike, however, has not reacted to the governor’s statements but the PDP faction linked to him attacked Nwifuru’s comments, calling them reckless, inflammatory and a sign of desperation ahead of the 2027 election.
The faction’s spokesperson, Jungudo Mohammed, said at a press conference last Thursday at the party’s national secretariat that performance and not intimidation would determine the Ebonyi governorship election.
“These unfortunate statements clearly show a governor who is increasingly worried about the prospect of being rejected by the people of Ebonyi State in 2027,” Mohammed said.
He called on Nwifuru to brace up to face the faction’s governorship candidate, Ifeanyi Odii at the poll.
He also called on security agencies and civil society organisations to take note of what he called the governor’s “disturbing” comments.
“If the governor wants to ‘consume’ the people of Ebonyi State, let him do it through visible developmental projects, effective governance and tangible improvements in their living conditions,” he said.
However, a faction of the PDP led by Kabiru Turaki, supported Nwifuru’s comments.
But the faction, through its spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, in a statement, said the governor only condemned what he called Wike’s alleged anti-party activities and political interference.
“Ememobong accused the FCT minister of interfering in political matters outside his official and geographical domain when he allegedly used the name of Tinubu.
He also accused Wike of having a hand in the removal of former Ebonyi governor, Dave Umahi from the PDP.
The group insisted that Alexander Eze remains its governorship candidate for Ebonyi State in the 2027 election.
