Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Minister of Works, David Umahi, All Progressives Congress governors, led by the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, among others, on Monday, rallied voters in Ebonyi State to support the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 election.
They declared that his administration has “a million reasons” to seek another mandate on the strength of its achievements.
Shettima, speaking at the rally held at Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Abakaliki, the state capital, urged the electorate to vote for the ruling party from “top to bottom” in the forthcoming general elections.
Highlighting the Tinubu administration’s projects in the state, Shettima listed the Calabar-Ebonyi-Okigwe-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway, the Trans-Saharan Highway, the bridge linking Ebonyi and Cross River states, and the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Expressway among the infrastructure projects being undertaken by the Federal Government.
He stated, “Good people of Ebonyi State, we are honouring our promises because you elected His Excellency, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, as the APC flagbearer. We are also honouring our promises because the sons and daughters of this state worked day and night for the success of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Where shall we begin the account of our work? Shall we begin with the Calabar-Ebonyi-Okigwe-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway? What about the Trans-Saharan Highway or the bridge linking Ebonyi State with Cross River State? We are also advancing work on the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Expressway and the Ogoja-Arochukwu-Cross River Road.
“Again, I ask: where shall we begin? Good people of Ebonyi State, we have set aside funding for renewable energy projects in eight locations across the state. These investments are intended to provide electricity for homes and businesses. Construction has also begun on the renovation of housing estates to provide more families with decent places to live.
“We know what education means to you. Through NELFUND and TETFund, we are supporting students and educational institutions.
“Thousands of people in Ebonyi State have benefited from grants under the Presidential Conditional Grants Scheme. Our employment and digital skills programmes are also helping young people acquire skills and build sustainable livelihoods.”
Shettima noted that his administration had intensified efforts to improve national security, adding that the Nigerian Army Recruit Training Depot in Amasiri, Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, had commenced operations.
He also highlighted the establishment of the South-East Development Commission, the launch of the South-East Vision 2050 and the approval of the South-East Investment Company as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to promote regional development.
“We understand the relationship between security and livelihoods. We have a million reasons to return with confidence, but we do not take your support for granted.
“Ebonyi State now has greater resources to address its needs because the President has increased the revenue available to every state. Governor Francis Nwifuru is putting those resources to work, and we salute his stewardship. We appreciate Governor Nwifuru.
“My brother and fellow Nigerian, we are all in the same boat and share the same political alignment. He has provided leadership, particularly through his collaboration with the three senators representing Ebonyi State, the seven members of the House of Representatives and all members of the state House of Assembly.
“I believe that on January 16, 2027, you will come out en masse and vote for the APC from top to bottom and bottom to top,” he said.
Shettima noted that former governors of the state, including Sam Egwu, Martin Elechi and Umahi, were united in their support for the current administration and the APC.
Yari, in his address, said the APC set a target of 1.2 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Ebonyi State.
He said the Tinubu administration had improved states’ capacity to pay workers’ salaries, pensions and gratuities through increased federal allocations, while highlighting the NELFUND student loan scheme as part of its support for young Nigerians.
He stated, “I confirmed from your main man, the Minister of Works. I asked him how many registered voters Ebonyi State has. He said 1.8 million. I also gathered that the PVC collection figures show that, at the last count, the state had 1.5 million voters. Your Excellency, sir, on behalf of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I am setting my target. My target is a minimum of 1.2 million votes.
“Youths and women, do you agree with this target? Are you ready to give Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 1.2 million votes in Ebonyi State?”
Yari said Tinubu demonstrated his commitment to the South-East by appointing Umahi as Minister of Works, noting that the region had at least eight ministers in the Federal Executive Council.
He said the appointments justified his expectation that Ebonyi residents would deliver 1.2 million votes for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, urging the people to endorse the target.
“This man, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I do not think the opposition or the incumbent can contest an election with him.
“Part of the challenges we faced when we were governors alongside Umahi was the struggle to pay salaries. We struggled. We even needed bailouts before we could pay salaries regularly.
“However, I have had the opportunity to discuss with some governors. One of them told me that he had paid over N50bn in gratuities to workers who had retired from service, while pensions were being paid alongside salaries.
“This is what Bola Tinubu has done for you. He takes care of governors by giving them their entitlements when due, and they, in turn, do the right thing. Gratuities, pensions and workers’ salaries are paid when due, without delay. This is Bola Ahmed Tinubu for you.
“Do not just look at what previous governments, whether at the state or federal level, did. They know how they managed the situation. But Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing things differently and better than they did. Therefore, Ebonyi people, we do not need to tell you much about him.”
Yari described Tinubu’s administration as gender-friendly, citing the appointment of about 10 women as ministers and 13 others as special advisers and assistants.
Yari said Tinubu had also appointed about 37 women to leadership positions across government agencies, urging women in Ebonyi State to turn out in large numbers to vote for the President in the January 16, 2027 election.
He also urged youths to support Tinubu’s re-election, highlighting NELFUND and claiming that more than N300bn had been released to support students seeking higher education.
Uzodimma and Umahi also urged voters in the South-East to prioritise national unity and development over political sentiments in the 2027 general elections.
In his remarks, Uzodimma urged South-East residents to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards and vote for Tinubu’s re-election, warning that ongoing development projects in the region could be halted if the President lost the 2027 election.
He said re-electing Tinubu was necessary to ensure the completion of projects initiated by his administration.
He stated, “Speaker after speaker have said good things about President Bola Tinubu in the South-East, North-Central, North-East, North-West, South-South and South-West. But this time around, most of the things the President has done, many of them are completed, while many of the projects have not been completed.
“I saw the Governor of Ebonyi State in his address. He read what is called the Charter of Needs for the people, for the South-East people and, indeed, for Nigeria.
“Our responsibility starts now: to go and look for our PVCs. That is the weapon, because if Bola Tinubu is not re-elected, all these ongoing projects will stop. So, we have to sharpen our weapon, and our weapon is our voter card.
“The day is January 16. The ammunition is your voter’s card. So, all of us, young men, young women, mothers, fathers, uncles, brothers and sisters, should go and bring their PVCs and vote massively. The symbol is the broom. Vote massively for the APC.”
Uzodimma urged South-East voters to support the APC, saying Tinubu’s re-election would ensure the completion of ongoing road projects in the region.
“The days are gone when we draw our votes based on sentiment. We are not voting based on sentiment. We are voting based on pragmatism.
“Let me tell you, we have our enemies. When there is a new presidential election, they will come to Ebonyi. They will tell you, ‘This is your brother. This is your cousin. Vote for him,’ because they want us to be marginalised. This is the time to stop marginalisation.
“The only way to stop marginalisation is to come out en masse and vote so that our brothers and sisters will be at the table where national decisions will be taken.
“So, this time around, we are not going to vote based on sentiment. We are voting for national unity. We are voting for Nigeria, and we are going to vote for a Nigeria where all of us will be included.”
Similarly, Umahi credited Tinubu with initiating major road projects across the South-East, saying several infrastructure developments in Ebonyi and neighbouring states would not have been possible without the President’s intervention.
Umahi listed the 65-kilometre Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe road, valued at N193bn, and the 123-kilometre Afikpo-Benue boundary road, awarded at N454bn, among the projects being executed by the Federal Government.
He said the projects were progressing, with the former 40 per cent complete.
The minister said Tinubu had given the South-East a sense of belonging through his appointments and infrastructure projects, pledging that Ebonyi State would deliver 1.3 million votes for the President.
He added, “Yes, we accept Tinubu, and we are going to follow him. We will not follow any other man. We will not follow a man who runs away from small challenges. We will not follow sentiments. We are following a man who has remembered the people of Ebonyi, a man who remembers the South-East and has integrated us. That is President Tinubu.
“President Tinubu has truly given us a sense of belonging. We are being rehabilitated. Everything that was denied us in the past is now being made available to us. That is why we must follow President Bola Tinubu. He is the only man who has remembered us.
“Because of what Tinubu is doing, we have contested in the APC from top to bottom. And we assure you all that Ebonyi State will give President Tinubu 1.3 million votes come January 16, 2027.”
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, urged voters in Ebonyi State to deliver an outright victory for the party in the 2027 presidential and governorship elections.
Yilwatda, who was represented by the party’s Deputy National Chairman, South, Ben Nwoye, called on the electorate to vote for APC candidates across all elective positions in the forthcoming polls.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
Former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is among the leading opposition figures seeking to unseat President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Obi is from the South-East geopolitical zone.
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