There was jubilation in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital yesterday following the announcement of the speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Francis Nwifuru, as the authentic governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress by the leadership of the party.
The chairman of the party in in the state, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, made the confirmation during the distribution of materials for the primary election of the party’s council chairmanship primary at the Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre, Abakaliki.
Chief Emegha said, “INEC has finally uploaded the authentic APC candidate for Ebonyi State governorship position. It’s the speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwufuru.”
He described the development as good news for Ebonyi people, especially APC members and their supporters.
He said the emergence of Chief Nwifuru as the party’s governorship candidate had shown that he would be the successor of Governor David Nweze Umahi in 2023.
There were rumours on whether Nwifuru’s name would be uploaded by INEC in its portal as the APC gubernatorial candidate of Ebonyi State or not.
But the APC chairman who dismissed the rumours as the handiwork of enemies of the state said the authenticity of Nwifuru as the candidate had laid to rest the speculations and rumours and urged the general public, especially Ebonyi people to disregard them.
He advised the party members and their supporters to begin to canvass for Nwifuru’s victory alongside other APC candidates in 2023 polls.
He expressed his readiness to extend the party’s olive branch to the erring members if they accept working together with the existing party structure and its leadership in the state.
Chief Emegha had earlier disclosed that 855 delegates were chosen to elect the 13 local government chairmanship candidates of the party during the primary election against the July 30 council polls in the state.
“5 delegates represent each ward and you know, we have 171 wards in Ebonyi State,” he said.
