Abia Community Leaders Defend Support For Onyejeocha’s Re-election Bid

Traditional rulers and other stakeholders from the five communities of Ovim in the Isuikwuato local government area of Abia State have explained their decision to endorse the re-election bid of Hon.

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, a former minister of State for Labour and Employment. The leaders, who passed a vote of confidence in Onyejeocha, pledged to support her return to the House of Representatives to represent the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in 2027.

They spoke on Wednesday at a reception organised by the Ovim communities in honour of the former minister and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate. In a unanimous resolution read by Chief Enyioma Ekebuike of Ohoroho, the leaders described Onyejeocha as “our own”, saying her record of representation and constituency development placed her ahead of other contenders.

In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja by her media team, Ekebuike was reported as saying that her commitment to human capital development, which is her major tool for empowering the people, remained one of the former minister’s defining legacies.

The community leaders cited several projects and interventions attributed to Onyejeocha, including the Oguduasa Erosion Control Project, road construction and rehabilitation, the establishment of a skill acquisition centre, the provision of classroom blocks and educational support, free medical outreaches, and the facilitation of federal employment opportunities for constituents.

Other speakers included Mazi Iheanyi Iroegbu, Elder Uche Nnaji, Mazi Nkemakola Okoroafor, Engr. Victor Nnamdi Ekebuike, Lolo Dioma Ogbonna and Elder John Chinenye Ogbonna.

In her response, Onyejeocha thanked the Ovim communities for their confidence and promised to remain committed to the constituency’s development.

She pledged to ensure the completion of projects she had already secured in the national budget, while promising continued focus on youth empowerment, women’s inclusion and infrastructure.

“I remain fully committed to bettering Isuikwuato/Umunneochi,” she said, assuring the constituents that she would ensure that their voice was heard in the National Assembly. She was accompanied by APC chieftains, including the party’s Abia State deputy governorship candidate, Dr Godswill Agu Egbe, the state organising secretary, Barr Emeka Okoroafor and other party leaders.