The Minister of Works and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Senator David Nweze Umahi, has vowed to personally engage the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, and persuade him to withdraw from the 2027 governorship race in favour of Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru.
Umahi made the declaration while addressing political stakeholders from Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo Federal Constituency at Osborne Hotel, Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area, amid intensifying political realignments ahead of the election.
The former governor maintained that the governorship slot had not yet returned to Ebonyi South Senatorial District, which produced him as governor between 2015 and 2023, insisting that the existing power-rotation arrangement should be respected.
“I will be the one to go and talk to the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ifeanyi Odii,” Umahi said, according to reports of his address.
His intervention has added fresh momentum to the emerging campaign for political consensus around Nwifuru’s expected second-term bid, while putting renewed focus on the political calculations surrounding Odii, who is also from Ebonyi South.
The development came against the backdrop of growing disagreements among political actors over the relevance and interpretation of the state’s informal zoning arrangement.
Supporters of Nwifuru have argued that the governorship has historically rotated among the three senatorial districts and that the incumbent should be allowed to complete the current political cycle before power returns to another zone.
The Ebonyi South Youth Assembly has similarly urged Odii to shelve his governorship ambition and support Nwifuru, arguing that the immediate return of the governorship to the South would undermine the principle of rotation.
National President of the group, Comrade Odii Njoku, has maintained that zoning has contributed to political stability, equity and inclusion in the state.
However, the zoning argument has not gone unchallenged.
Odii’s supporters have rejected calls for his withdrawal, insisting that the 2027 contest should ultimately be determined by voters rather than an unwritten political arrangement.
The Anyi Ga Emeya Support Group, for instance, has declared support for Odii and dismissed attempts to constrain his political ambition through zoning arguments.
The renewed intervention by Umahi is therefore expected to intensify the political contest over whether continuity under Nwifuru or a fresh challenge under Odii should define the 2027 governorship election.
Umahi has also recently declared that the PDP would not regain political control of Ebonyi State, further underscoring his opposition to any political realignment that could threaten the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
For the moment, however, there is no indication that Odii has accepted the call to withdraw from the race.
Political observers say Umahi’s proposed engagement with the PDP candidate could become a significant development in the unfolding 2027 calculations, particularly as political stakeholders continue to negotiate alliances, zoning expectations and the prospects of a consensus candidate.
The unfolding contest is consequently shaping up as a major test of the durability of Ebonyi’s informal power-sharing tradition against the constitutional right of political actors to contest elective office.
With the 2027 election approaching, attention is expected to shift increasingly towards whether the proposed intervention by Umahi will produce a political accommodation or further deepen the rivalry between the APC-led camp and the opposition.
