Ebonyi State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon. Uchenna Stephen Igwe, has said the people of the state will reciprocate the administration’s development initiatives with their votes for continuity in the 2027 general elections.
Igwe said the widespread impact of Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru’s administration, particularly at the grassroots, had strengthened public confidence in the government and positioned the governor’s programmes as a major factor that would shape the state’s political direction in 2027.
The commissioner stated this on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, during the swearing-in of the newly elected chairmen of the 13 local government areas of the state.
He said the administration’s development philosophy, anchored on the Ebonyi People’s Charter of Needs, had prioritised projects and programmes based on the needs of ordinary citizens, especially those in rural communities.
According to him, the governor has combined infrastructure development with human-capital investment and social welfare interventions, resulting in what he described as a broad-based transformation across the state.
Igwe said, “Ebonyi rural dwellers, who constitute the majority of voters, want His Excellency to know that they are happy with His Excellency and will vote for the continuation of the good life they have been enjoying under His Excellency’s government.”
He listed wage awards, salary increases, the lifting of the embargo on employment, recruitment of teachers and health workers, payment of arrears of gratuities to local government retirees and the restoration of local and overseas postgraduate scholarship programmes among the interventions of the administration.
The commissioner also credited the governor with strengthening the local government system through financial autonomy, noting that Ebonyi had granted autonomy to its local government areas for more than a year before the Supreme Court’s July 11, 2024 ruling on local government financial autonomy.
He said the administration had also deployed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters as an instrument for resolving traditional institution and community leadership disputes.
Igwe disclosed that the number of communities with recognised traditional rulers had significantly increased under the present administration, while new communities had also been created.
He said the government subsequently democratized the processes for selecting traditional rulers and town union executives in several communities, describing the development as critical to restoring peace, legitimacy and grassroots participation.
“Today, traditional rulers and town union leaders have been successfully elected and inaugurated in over 80 communities. These communities now sit together in peace, rebuilding trust and focusing on shared growth,” he said.
The commissioner further highlighted several grassroots projects executed through the local government councils, including concrete roads, bridges, markets, rural electrification projects, administrative blocks, health facilities and other community-based infrastructure.
He said the projects were evidence of the administration’s strategy of extending development beyond urban centres and directly addressing the infrastructure deficit in rural communities.
According to him, modern royal duplexes have also been constructed for 67 traditional rulers, alongside two-kilometre concrete roads in each of the 67 benefiting rural communities.
Igwe said the interventions had improved rural connectivity, enhanced access to economic opportunities and helped curb rural-urban migration.
He maintained that the projects being implemented across the 13 local government areas demonstrated the administration’s commitment to inclusive development.
The commissioner cited projects including the Okoffia-Nsokara concrete road and bridges in Ezza South; the ultra-modern market in Ishiagu, Ivo; administrative blocks in Ebonyi and Afikpo; the Onyirigbo concrete road and rural electrification projects in Ebonyi Local Government Area; and the Achiegu rural concrete road and Koko-Onicha Bridge in Ezza North.
Others, he said, included the Abomege ultra-modern shopping complex in Onicha; Nwida rural electrification project, Ngele-Ute Bridge and Okpuitumo concrete road in Abakaliki; Iziogo fire-proof concrete shops and Ndegu-Ndumbam concrete road in Izzi; as well as the Ogbagu-Nkwo concrete road and Ezzamgbo shopping complex in Ohaukwu.
He also listed the Okposi regional market and health centres in Ugwulangwu and Okposi, all in Ohaozara; Eke-Ntite Market in Edda; Ugbodo-Nduoduma concrete road and Lacash electricity project in Ikwo; the Ikwo General Hospital; Oswe River dredging project; and Obuchiru community road in Ishielu.
Igwe said the newly inaugurated council chairmen had the responsibility of consolidating the gains recorded at the grassroots and ensuring that local government administration remained responsive to the needs of the people.
He congratulated the chairmen-elect on their victories and urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them by the electorate through accountable leadership, effective service delivery and sustained development.
The commissioner also commended the outgoing council chairmen for their contributions to grassroots development, while expressing appreciation to Governor Nwifuru for what he described as his commitment to transforming the state.
He said the peaceful transition of leadership at the local government level marked another milestone in the state’s democratic development.
Igwe urged the new council chairmen to align their administration with the governor’s development agenda and maintain close engagement with their respective communities.
He expressed optimism that the partnership between the state government and the local councils would further deepen development across Ebonyi ahead of the 2027 elections.
