The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in Ebonyi State, Ambassador Ephraim Iyke Nwonu, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Nwonu, who previously supported the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, said he had abandoned his bid for the House of Representatives seat to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and the Ebonyi State Governor.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday, Nwonu said his name remained on the Independent National Electoral Commission portal as the ADC candidate, but he had decided to withdraw from the contest.
“I am the official ADC candidate for the Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency on the INEC portal, but I have decided to jettison and sacrifice that ambition because of my unalloyed support for Mr President and my state governor,” he said.
He added that he would work with APC stakeholders in Ebonyi State and his constituency to support Tinubu and the governor.
Nwonu said his political connection with Tinubu dated back to 1992, when the President was a senator alongside his late mentor, Senator Polycarp Nwite.
He said Nwite subsequently appointed him secretary of the defunct Democratic Party of Nigeria in Ebonyi State.
“Senator Nwite appointed me as the secretary of the defunct DPN in Ebonyi State, so I have every reason to be where Tinubu is,” he said.
Explaining his decision to switch parties, Nwonu cited several federal road, bridge and other infrastructure projects in Ebonyi and neighbouring states.
Among them, he mentioned the Ndibe Beach Bridge linking Afikpo North in Ebonyi State to Itigidi in Cross River State, a 125.5-kilometre road corridor spanning Cross River, Ebonyi, Benue, Nasarawa and Abuja, as well as the ongoing dualisation of the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Expressway.
He also listed the Onuebonyi-Vanco Junction-Abakaliki-Afikpo road, a flyover at Peat Junction in Onueke and the Obubra-Noyo-Oferekpe interstate road.
Nwonu described the projects as part of the Tinubu administration’s “infrastructure footprints” in the region.
He further claimed that 23 federal appointments had been given to Ebonyi indigenes under the present administration, describing the figure as the largest share of national appointments received by the state.
Asked about the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Nwonu dismissed the possibility of Obi posing a challenge to Tinubu in the South-East.
“There is no threat whatsoever. Anyone on the ballot is free to try their luck, but Peter Obi’s ambition poses no threat to Mr President in the Southeast, especially considering what this administration has delivered to Ebonyi State. President Tinubu will win comfortably,” he said.
Nwonu also cited findings from a survey his non-governmental organisation conducted in collaboration with the Ebonyi State Ministry of Information.
“Our findings show that the majority of our people now recognise the achievements of Mr President and are ready to reciprocate his goodwill with massive votes,” he said.
