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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The member representing Ikwo/Ezza South federal constituency, Ebonyi State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, and the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state for next year’s general election, Chief Ifeanyi Odii, are bickering over alleged under-aged Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), cyberbullying, and leadership qualities.
While Ogah accused Odii of sponsoring fake and under-aged PVC registration for the 2027 general election, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and character assassination against Governor Francis Nwifuru and desperate for power, Odii said Ebonyi people deserve scorecard and accountability in governance, which he said have not been seen in the past three years under the Nwifuru administration.
Addressing journalists in Abakaliki, the state capital, Ogah claimed that the PDP governorship candidate has employed all manner of tactics, including hiring INEC officials to be registering under-aged voters in his Onicha Local Government Area, especially in his Isu community to grab power in 2027. He implored Odii to play by the rules and avoid desperation in the contest for the 2027 governorship election.
Ogah also challenged Odii to show Ebonyi people those he has employed, industries he has built in the state, and his overall contribution for the development of the state that qualifies him for governorship.
“We are watching all Anyichuks is doing; going to INEC to do fake registration of voters, sponsoring cyberbullying, cyber stalking, propaganda, and character assassination against our performing governor who has impacted positively on the entire Ebonyi State through purposeful leadership, anchored on the people’s charter of needs.
“He pays INEC people N70,000 per person in a day to register under-aged voters in his Onicha Local Government Area when he knows that Onicha alone cannot make a governor.
“I challenge him to name one person he has trained as a graduate in Izzi, Abakaliki, Ebonyi Local Government areas when Governor Francis comes from Izzi. But our dear governor has given many people foreign and local scholarships, built many roads, and done many other live-touching projects in his Onicha Local Government Area.
“Before I joined politics, I provided electricity in many communities in my Ikwo Local Government Area, built bridges, culverts, and did other things for my people which made the people of Ikwo/Ezza South federal constituency to elect me as their representative in the National Assembly till today, and they are still rooting for me because of what I have done.
“So, let Anyichuks tell Ebonyi people to tell us the impact he has made to become the governor and stop deceiving himself. Yes, he is my friend and we talk as friends and age mates, but he is not getting it in politics. He has not done anything deserving to qualify for governorship, and he has not held any position to tutor himself for governorship and you must count one before you count two”, Ogah told Odii.
But reacting to Ogah’s allegations, Odii described them as unfortunate, baseless, and a calculated attempt to criminalise free speech and legitimate criticism in an attempt to divert public attention from the real issues confronting the people of the state.
In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Moses Idika, the PDP governorship candidate said the state needs answers, records, and leadership prepared to explain what has become of the resources entrusted to it which, he said, has now been recast by Ogah as cyberbullying.
“This undemocratic action of Hon. Ogah must be condemned and the records set straight in the interest of the rule of law, democratic governance, and the overall best interest of the people of Ebonyi State who, now, demands accountability in governance and use of our collective resources. Since when did asking questions become cyberbullying?
“Since when did demanding a scorecard become cyberstalking? Since when did the people of Ebonyi lose their right to hold their leaders accountable? At what point, in the political history of this state, did it become an offence to ask a sitting governor to render an account of his stewardship to the very people who, supposedly, elected him?
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“Hon. Ogah owes Ebonyi people explanations as to when holding elected officials, himself inclusive, accountable, became a criminal act. What the ruling party and its representatives now brand as cyberbullying is nothing more than Ebonyi citizens, youths, and stakeholders, both online and offline, asking a straightforward question: what has become of the substantial allocations that have flowed into this state, as they have flowed into others?
“Ebonyi people observe what neighbouring governors in the region are achieving with comparable resources, and they are simply asking where are the promised jobs? And where is the transparency in the management of their commonwealth?
“In any functioning democracy, asking leaders to account for public resources is not an attack. In fact, asking such a critical question is patriotism in its purest form. To dismiss that demand as desperation is to insult the intelligence of our people and to tell Ebonyi people they have no voice in how they are governed.
“Hon. Ogah appears to suggest that the sole duty of the electorate is to cast their vote and then fall silent, never again asking for a report card on performance. That is not the democracy Ebonyi people signed up for, and it is certainly not the democracy we recommend for our state”, he stated.
Odii said he has touched many lives more than Ogah and that those he has touched are the ones rooting for him.
“Hon. Ogah, in his diatribe, challenged Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii to point to what he has done for Ebonyi State. Since he appears not to know or chooses to forget, let the record speak plainly on his behalf. Over the past 20 years, through the Ebele and Anyichuks Foundation and through private investments, all corners of Ebonyi State have, in one way or another, benefited Ebonyians.
“Over the last two decades, the Ebele and Anyicjhuks Foundation has empowered more than 10,000 Ebonyi youths and women with grants, vocational training, and startup capital across all 13 local government areas. The Foundation has sponsored over 5,000 students on local and foreign scholarships spanning medicine, engineering, information technology, and agriculture, investing directly in the human capital this state will need for the decades ahead.
“Agro-processing and information technology hubs now stand in Afikpo, Onicha, and Abakaliki, created to generate direct employment for our graduates rather than leave them to search endlessly for opportunities that do not exist. Medical outreaches and free health insurance have reached widows, the elderly, and persons living with disabilities in rural communities that government programmes routinely overlook.
“Over 200 houses have been built for widows and the most vulnerable members of our communities across all 13 local government areas, and many of those beneficiaries remain unknown to him personally, a fact that speaks to the intent behind this work rather than any pursuit of publicity. These interventions were funded with personal resources, not government funds, because Chief Odii holds the conviction that leadership is, at its core, an act of service”, he stated.
On the sponsoring of fake and under-aged PVC registrations, Odii challenged Ogah to take whatever evidence he claims to possess directly to the appropriate security agencies rather than trade in unsubstantiated claims through the press, saying “Ebonyi people have grown weary of propaganda, and as a lawmaker, he owes his constituents a higher standard of conduct than recycled allegations without proof.
“The allegation that Chief Odii is paying officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register underage voters is reckless, defamatory, and frankly laughable. INEC operates as a federal institution with its own established procedures, entirely outside the control or influence of private individuals, unless Hon. Ogah is telling us what the public should know about himself.
“We challenge Hon. Ogah to take whatever evidence he claims to possess directly to the appropriate security agencies, rather than trade in unsubstantiated claims through the press. Ebonyi people have grown weary of propaganda, and as an honourable member of the House of Representatives, he owes his constituents a higher standard of conduct than recycled allegations without proof.
“The legitimate aspiration of Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii to lead Ebonyi State is not born of desperation. It is born of a firm conviction that Ebonyi State can do considerably better than it currently does”, he said
