Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has rejected reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ceded political control of the state to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
APC member, Nwifuru spoke at 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!’”
Nwifuru however dismissed the alleged claim and maintained that Ebonyi was still firmly under the control of the APC.
He warned those behind the alleged plot not to underestimate the resolve of his administration and supporters.
“Now, I want to sound like this as your governor: It’s not scary. “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 tries 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 has yet to respond to the governor’s comments, but the PDP faction associated with him criticised Nwifuru’s remarks, describing them as reckless, inflammatory and a sign of desperation ahead of the 2027 election.
The Ebonyi governorship election would be decided by performance and not intimidation, the faction’s spokesperson, Jungudo Mohammed, said during a press conference last Thursday at the party’s national secretariat.
“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.
Mohammed also called on security agencies and civil society organisations to take note of what he described as the governor’s “disturbing” remarks.
“If the governor genuinely 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 stated.
But another faction of the PDP, led by Kabiru Turaki, supported Nwifuru’s comments.
In a statement, the faction’s spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, said the governor simply 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 alleged that Wike played a role in the ousting of former Ebonyi governor, Dave Umahi from the PDP.
The faction insisted that Alexander Eze is its governorship candidate in Ebonyi State ahead of the 2027 election.
