2027: Atiku’s Loyalist Dumps ADC, Backs Tinubu

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) House of Representatives candidate for Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in Ebonyi State, Ambassador Ephraim Iyke Nwonu, has left the party and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Nwonu, who had previously supported ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, announced his decision in Abuja on Saturday, saying he had abandoned his ambition to contest the federal constituency seat in favour of supporting President Bola Tinubu and Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru.

Although his name remains on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal as the ADC candidate, Nwonu said he had decided to withdraw from the contest and work with APC stakeholders to support the President and the state governor in the 2027 elections.

He said his relationship with Tinubu dated back to 1992, when the President was a senator and Nwonu’s late political mentor, Senator Polycarp Nwite, was also in the Senate. Nwonu later served as secretary of the defunct Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) in Ebonyi State under Nwite.

Nwonu cited federal infrastructure projects in Ebonyi and neighbouring states as part of the reasons for his decision. Among the projects he mentioned were the Ndibe Beach Bridge linking Afikpo North with Itigidi in Cross River State, the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Expressway dualisation project and the Onuebonyi-Vanco Junction-Abakaliki-Afikpo road.

He also listed the flyover project at Peat Junction in Onueke and the Obubra-Noyo-Oferekpe interstate road as projects he said demonstrated the Federal Government’s investment in the region.

The former ADC candidate further claimed that 23 federal appointments had been given to Ebonyi indigenes under the Tinubu administration, describing the figure as the highest the state had received from the Federal Government.

Nwonu also spoke about Peter Obi’s political prospects in the South-East, saying he did not consider the former Labour Party presidential candidate a threat to Tinubu in the region. He attributed this position to what he described as the Federal Government’s projects and appointments in Ebonyi.

He also referred to a survey conducted by his non-governmental organisation in collaboration with the Ebonyi State Ministry of Information, which he said indicated support for Tinubu’s administration among residents of the state.

Nwonu’s defection adds to the movement of political figures between parties ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the ADC and APC among the parties seeking to consolidate their support across different parts of the country.