By Uche Okeh
The Ebonyi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has intensified its grassroots mobilisation for the 2027 governorship election, with the inauguration of more than 62 executives, members of the Board of Trustees and liaison officers of the Polling Unit Mobilisation for FON (PUM), a support group campaigning for the re-election of Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru.
At the inauguration ceremony held at Re-Meritona Hotels and Suites, Abakaliki, the APC State Chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, declared that there would be “no vacancy” in the Ebonyi State Government House in 2027, urging the newly inaugurated officials to take the governor’s re-election campaign to the grassroots.
Emegha, who was represented by the APC Zonal Chairman for Ebonyi South, Alhaji Ernest Nweze, charged the PUM officials to strengthen mobilisation at the polling-unit level and work towards consolidating the party’s support base ahead of the election.
Nweze, who was accompanied by the APC zonal chairmen for Ebonyi North and Central, also urged party members and residents to disregard what he described as attempts by political opponents to undermine the Nwifuru administration.
He dismissed suggestions of an imminent governorship contest from Ebonyi South, describing some of the political activities surrounding the issue as largely driven by what he called “content creators.”
The development came as PUM unveiled an extensive grassroots mobilisation framework designed to establish a presence across polling units in the state.
Speaking earlier, the State Coordinator of PUM, Ogbuefi Zaccheaus Ifeuwabundidi, said the organisation would establish structures in every polling unit, with a minimum of 10 mobilisation units assigned to each polling unit.
Ifeuwabundidi said the mobilisation strategy would encompass door-to-door, farm-to-farm, market-to-market and church-based engagements, adding that the administration’s programmes and projects would constitute the central message of the campaign.
“Our decision to mobilise for the re-election of His Excellency is not based on sentiment, but on verifiable performance and his sterling leadership anchored on the People’s Charter of Needs,” he said.
He added that PUM had created directorates for strategy and planning, security, inter-party affairs, medical services, media and publicity, contact and mobilisation, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
The coordinator, who is from Ebonyi South, also weighed into the debate over zoning and prospective candidates from the senatorial district, maintaining that Governor Nwifuru should be allowed to complete two terms in office.
The inauguration brings the group's stated mobilisation architecture closer to the polling-unit level, with PUM presenting its structure as a mechanism for sustained voter engagement ahead of the 2027 poll.
A report on the inauguration similarly said the organisation plans to deploy at least 10 mobilisation units per polling unit.
Also speaking, the member representing Onicha Constituency in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Hon. Ifeanyi Ogba, called for unity among APC members, saying the governor’s record in office would be central to the party’s campaign.
Ogba cited scholarship programmes and the construction of more than 675 kilometres of roads, among other projects, as achievements he said would feature prominently in the party’s mobilisation efforts.
He urged APC stakeholders to close ranks and sustain a coordinated grassroots campaign ahead of the 2027 election.
Responding, the PUM Liaison Officer, Godwin Aliuna, expressed confidence in the organisation’s grassroots structure, saying the group had the capacity to mobilise support across communities and polling units in the state.
Aliuna pledged that the organisation would deploy its structures across the state to canvass support for Nwifuru’s re-election.
The inauguration is part of a broader effort by Ebonyi APC and affiliated support groups to consolidate their political structures ahead of the 2027 elections.
The APC state leadership has also recently called on stakeholders to harmonise their strategies across the state ahead of the polls.
The PUM leadership said its mobilisation activities would remain focused on direct engagement with voters at the grassroots, with emphasis on communicating the administration’s policies, programmes and projects as the 2027 election approaches.
