Ebonyi PDP gov candidate promises economic transformation

A dispute has arisen within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Ebonyi state concerning the party's governorship ticket. Professor Ernest Uchenna Ereke, a chieftain of the party and an aspirant for the governorship, is maintaining that he was elected as the candidate through a replacement primary held on September 16, 2026.

This assertion comes after the withdrawal of the party's former governorship candidate, Mba Ude Collins, who formally communicated his decision to step out of the race and completed the required affidavits as mandated by the Electoral Act. Ereke stated that the party informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Collins' withdrawal and subsequently set up an electoral committee to organize a replacement primary.

Ereke is confident that the party's final list of governorship candidates, expected to be released later in September, will include his name. He dismissed rumors of competing claims to the ADC governorship ticket, stating that they were part of the political activities accompanying the party's growing presence in the state. Ereke dismissed the opposition from the ADC leadership, led by Dr Jennifer Adibe and Mgboroko Chukwudi, who claimed that the replacement primary was unapproved and not conducted by their structure.

The controversy has intensified with the ADC having released its list of governorship candidates for the 2027 general elections on September 4, naming Ukpai Mba Udeh as the party's candidate for Ebonyi state. The elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.