...Commissioner challenges signatories to prove group's legitimacy, questions alleged 2031 succession arrangement, backs Nwifuru's re-election bid
The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Chief Oguzor Offia-Nwali, has challenged the legitimacy of the purported Ezza Ezekuna Leaders Council, insisting that no such body has demonstrated the authority to speak or endorse a governorship candidate on behalf of the Ezza people.
Offia-Nwali, who made the position known in a statement on Friday, was reacting to a communiqué reportedly issued by the group endorsing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, ahead of the 2027 governorship election in the state.
He described the purported endorsement as the political preference of the individuals behind the communiqué rather than a collective decision of the Ezza people, demanding that the signatories establish the group's authenticity, organisational structure and representative mandate.
The commissioner challenged the authors of the communiqué to disclose when the council was established, who inaugurated it, where its constitution was domiciled, who elected its leadership and which traditional institutions recognised its existence.
He also demanded that the group make public its membership register, leadership structure, headquarters and decision-making procedures.
According to him, the communiqué reportedly bears the names of Chima Ikechukwu, Ekuma Onyebuchi, Chief Ifeanyi Ojeogu, Idris Oken, Igwe Chikaodiri, Obasi Emmanuel and Enyiukpor Emmanuel, among others.
He challenged the individuals to identify themselves publicly and explain the positions they occupy in the purported council and the capacity in which they claimed to represent the entire Ezza nationality.
"Let nobody mistake the right of a few individuals to express their political preferences for the authority to impose those preferences on an entire ethnic nationality," he said.
Offia-Nwali maintained that the Ezza people were politically conscious and capable of making independent electoral decisions, stressing that no collection of individuals should appropriate the collective identity of the community to advance personal political interests.
He, however, acknowledged the legitimacy of the Ezza people's aspiration to produce a governor of Ebonyi State, but questioned the political calculations behind the reported endorsement of Odii, particularly the suggestion that supporting him in 2027 would pave the way for an Ezza governor in 2031.
The commissioner described the alleged succession arrangement as speculative, arguing that no constitutional provision or binding agreement guaranteed that an Ezza person would succeed Odii if he emerged governor.
"Who made that promise? Where is the agreement? Who signed it? Which political party has committed itself constitutionally to producing an Ezza governor after Odii's purported four-year tenure?" he queried.
He further argued that the nomination of Patrick Nworu Mgbebu, an Ezza indigene, as Odii's running mate did not automatically confer on him or the Ezza people any constitutional entitlement to the governorship in 2031.
"Politics is not mathematics. Odii plus Mgbebu does not automatically equal an Ezza governor in 2031. A running mate is not a successor by constitutional entitlement. The office of deputy governor is not a waiting room for the governorship," he stated.
Offia-Nwali also cautioned against what he described as the politicisation of the Ezza people's legitimate governorship aspiration, insisting that the community should not mortgage its political future on an arrangement without an enforceable guarantee.
Turning to the performance of the incumbent administration, the commissioner declared his support for Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru's re-election bid, citing the administration's People's Charter of Needs and its interventions in infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture, youth empowerment and workers' welfare.
He said the Nwifuru administration had pursued development initiatives across the state's 13 local government areas, arguing that its policies were designed to promote inclusion and improve the living conditions of residents irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds.
According to him, the administration's investments in road infrastructure, scholarship programmes, tertiary education and human capital development, alongside efforts to address inherited pension and gratuity liabilities, were among the issues voters should consider in assessing its performance.
"Governor Nwifuru is not governing Ezza against Izzi, Izzi against Ngbo, Ngbo against Ezza, Izzi against Ikwo or Ezza against Ikwo. He is governing Ebonyi State," he said.
The commissioner also questioned the political credentials and policy alternatives being advanced by Odii, who contested the 2023 governorship election, urging him to explain what had changed and what new development agenda he intended to offer the state.
He stressed that the right to seek elective office did not automatically translate into an entitlement to public support, adding that candidates should be assessed on their records, policy proposals, administrative experience and vision for the state.
Offia-Nwali further cautioned against invoking the contributions of prominent Ezza personalities and founding figures of Ebonyi State, including Senator Dr Offia Nwali, Chief Innocent Ugo Chima, HRH Ezeogo Samuel Onyeka Mgbada, Chief Sam Okohu and Chief Felix Mgbada, to justify support for a particular political candidate.
He said their contributions to the creation and development of the state remained part of its collective heritage and should not be appropriated for partisan electoral arguments.
On the agitation for political equity, the commissioner maintained that the Charter of Equity should be approached through inclusive consultation and mutual agreement rather than selective interpretations dictated by individual political interests.
He urged traditional rulers, political leaders, professionals, business people, women and youths in Ezza land to scrutinise political endorsements and demand accountability from those claiming to represent their collective interests.
"I challenge the individuals behind the purported Ezza Ezekuna Leaders Council to establish their identity, organisational structure and representative mandate.
"Nobody should hide behind the collective identity of Ezza people to advance a personal political preference," he said.
He also challenged Odii to articulate the specific policy alternatives his candidacy would offer Ebonyi beyond the argument surrounding his choice of running mate and the alleged 2031 succession arrangement.
Offia-Nwali concluded that his political preference remained continuity and consolidation of the Nwifuru administration's development agenda, insisting that the electorate should be allowed to independently assess the records and proposals of all candidates before making their choices.
