2027: Ebonyi NRM accuses ex-guber candidate of using party to seek APC patronage

The Ebonyi State chapter of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) has accused its 2023 gubernatorial candidate, Comrade Tony Usulor, of attempting to use the party's structure to gain political relevance ahead of the 2027 general elections. The party's chairman, Hon. Ogodo Stanley, made the statement on behalf of the executive officers, stakeholders, and members of the NRM, rejecting Usulor's claim that he had dismantled the NRM structure in Ebonyi to align with the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ogodo claimed that Usulor had given up on party activities since the 2023 general elections and therefore lacked the political or organizational authority to claim ownership or speak for the NRM in the state. He emphasized that abandoning a role does not grant perpetual access to party structures, membership, or leadership. The chairman further pointed out that Usulor had not taken part in the NRM's activities after 2023, while the party had continued reorganizing its structures, updating membership, and conducting internal elections in line with its procedures.

He dismissed any claims that Usulor had moved or dismantled the NRM structure into the APC as political fiction, asserting that the NRM is an independent political organization governed by its constitution and recognized leadership. Ogodo accused Usulor of attempting to leverage the NRM's name as a bargaining tool in his dealings with the APC-led government.

However, the NRM chairman acknowledged Usulor's constitutional right to switch to another political party but stressed that such a decision was personal and could not be presented as the takeover or dissolution of NRM structures in Ebonyi State.