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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Romanus Ugwu, Abuja and Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has urged the South-East to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, citing improved security, multibillion-naira road projects and federal development interventions in the region, as Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, warned that ongoing projects could be abandoned if the President loses the election.
Shettima made the appeal at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally at the Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, yesterday where Governor Francis Nwifuru pledged 80 per cent of the state’s votes to Tinubu, Minister of Works, David Umahi, projected 1.3 million votes, while the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, set a minimum target of 1.2 million votes.
The rally, which attracted thousands of supporters from across Ebonyi and neighbouring states, brought together prominent political leaders, including former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu and former governors of Ebonyi State.
Supporters began arriving at the stadium as early as 8am, filling the stands and playing field, while hundreds of others were unable to gain entry.
Addressing the crowd, Shettima, who represented Tinubu, said the administration had strengthened security operations in the South-East while investing in roads, agriculture, education, healthcare and other programmes intended to improve economic opportunities.
“The security of the South-East has changed since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu became Commander-in-Chief over three years ago. We have worked to restore order, and we will keep working,” he said.
He listed the proposed Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue–Kogi–Nasarawa–Abuja Superhighway, Ndibe Bridge linking Ebonyi and Cross River states, Enugu–Abakaliki–Ogoja Expressway and Okposi–Ohaozara–Ukawu–Abaomege–Cross River road among federal projects being executed or advanced in the region.
“Where shall we begin the account of our work? Shall we begin with the Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue–Kogi–Nasarawa–Abuja Superhighway, part of our Trans-Saharan highway vision? Or with the Ndibe Bridge, which will link Ebonyi with Cross River?
“We are advancing work on the Enugu–Abakaliki–Ogoja Expressway and the Okposi–Ohaozara–Ukawu–Cross River road. Again, I ask: where shall we begin?” he said.
Shettima also disclosed that the Nigerian Army Recruits Training Depot at Amasiri in Edda Local Government Area had commenced operations, while funds had been earmarked for renewable energy projects in eight locations across Ebonyi State.
According to him, construction had commenced on the Renewed Hope Housing Estate, while the Federal Government was supporting education through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Tertiary Education Development Programme.
He said the administration was also supporting cancer treatment and research, precancer screening and primary healthcare financing across 164 health facilities in Ebonyi.
On agriculture, the Vice-President said rice and cassava farmers were benefiting from fertiliser distribution, interest-free financial assistance and other interventions, while rural road projects were expected to improve access to markets.
He added that thousands of residents had received grants under the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme, with federal employment and digital skills programmes providing opportunities for young people.
Shettima also cited the establishment of the South-East Development Commission, the launch of the South-East Vision 2050 and approval of the South East Investment Company as evidence of the administration’s commitment to the region.
He commended Nwifuru for what he described as prudent utilisation of increased federal allocations and urged voters to renew the mandates of both Tinubu and the Ebonyi governor.
“If any state can speak with confidence about the dividends of democracy, it is Ebonyi. You have stood by us. You have assured us that a mandate is a debt of honour, repayable only through service.
“Yet democracy demands the humility of asking again. We have returned to seek the renewal of your mandate, to serve you, to defend you, and to stand by you,” he said.
Shettima also pointed to what he described as political unity in Ebonyi, noting that former governors Sam Egwu, Martin Elechi and Umahi, alongside Anyim, were supporting the APC administration.
He said the party controlled the state’s three senatorial seats, seven House of Representatives seats and the state House of Assembly, describing the development as a demonstration of the political strength of the APC in Ebonyi.
However, Uzodimma, who chairs the Progressive Governors Forum, warned that Tinubu’s defeat could threaten the completion of ongoing federal projects, urging South-East voters to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote for the APC.
“Our responsibility will start from now to go and look for our PVC. That is the weapon, because if President Tinubu is not re-elected, all these ongoing projects will stop. So we have to sharpen our weapon, and our weapon is our voter card,” he said.
“The day is January 16. The ammunition is your voter’s card. So all of us, young men, young women, mothers, fathers, uncles, brothers, sisters, go and bring your PVC and vote massively. The symbol is the broom. Vote massively for APC.
“There is no name on the ballot paper called President Tinubu. What is on the ballot paper is APC, and I invite all of you to vote for APC. If you want all the roads that Governor Umahi has enumerated, the only way those roads can be completed is if we re-elect Bola Tinubu and the only way we can re-elect him is to vote for him en masse.”
Uzodimma also cautioned the region against voting along ethnic lines, arguing that political inclusion and participation in national decision-making should determine electoral choices.
“Days are gone when we throw our votes away to sentiments. We are not voting sentiments; we are voting pragmatism and realistic decisions,” he said.
“This is time to stop marginalisation. The only way to stop marginalisation is to come out en masse and vote so that their brothers and sisters will be on the table where national decisions will be taken.”
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In his remarks, Nwifuru pledged that Ebonyi would deliver 80 per cent of its votes to Tinubu, describing the state as a stronghold of the APC.
“Let me assure you, Mr President, this is an APC state, and you are going to win landslide in Ebonyi. Eighty per cent of our votes is assured,” he said.
The governor, however, appealed to the President to fund the installation of a 330kV electricity transmission line from Ugwuaji in Enugu State to Ebonyi, saying inadequate power infrastructure was hampering industrial development.
He disclosed that the state had provided land for the project since 2013 but was still awaiting federal intervention.
Nwifuru also requested approval for a proposed railway project connecting major urban centres across the five South-East states, saying the design had been completed but the contract had yet to be awarded.
He commended Tinubu for appointing Umahi as Minister of Works and for federal road interventions, including the Afikpo–Benue–Enugu–Nasarawa–Abuja corridor and reconstruction of the Obubra–Oferekpe road.
The governor also highlighted his administration’s achievements in infrastructure, education, healthcare and agriculture, claiming that more than 1,000 kilometres of roads had been completed across the state’s 13 local government areas.
Umahi, while outlining federal road projects in the region, disclosed that the 65-kilometre Afikpo–Uturu–Okigwe road project, valued at N193 billion, was about 40 per cent completed.
He also listed the 123-kilometre Ndibe Beach–Afikpo–Ezza–Benue project valued at N454 billion, the 21-kilometre Onueke–Akanu Ibiam junction road valued at N116 billion and the 176-kilometre Ebonyi–Benue–Enugu–Nasarawa corridor valued at N684 billion.
The minister said work was ongoing on the 140-kilometre Enugu–Abakaliki–Ogoja road dualisation project valued at N184 billion, alongside other projects, including the Ndibe Beach and Oferekpe bridges.
He urged residents to support Tinubu’s re-election to ensure the completion of the projects, predicting that the President would secure 1.3 million votes in Ebonyi.
Yari, who also addressed the rally, called on party supporters to deliver at least 1.2 million votes to Tinubu, saying the state had approximately 1.8 million registered voters.
“On behalf of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I put my scorecard at a minimum of 1.2 million votes. Youth and women, do you agree with this scorecard? Are you ready to give Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 1.2 million votes in Ebonyi?” he asked.
The former Zamfara governor credited Tinubu’s administration with improving the financial capacity of states to pay salaries and gratuities, while also commending the President for appointing women to key government positions.
He said more than N300 billion had been released under the Federal Government’s student loan programme, urging young people and women to mobilise support for the APC.
Former Senate President Anyim described the rally as evidence of political unity in Ebonyi, commending Nwifuru for bringing political stakeholders together.
He said the state was prepared to support the APC in the presidential, governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections, urging other South-East states to embrace similar political cooperation.
Kalu also called for support for Tinubu, citing increased federal allocations following the removal of fuel subsidy and the establishment of the South-East Development Commission.
He said the commission and other federal interventions demonstrated the administration’s commitment to addressing the region’s development needs.
Similarly, Mbah urged the people to consolidate what he described as the gains of the Tinubu administration rather than abandon ongoing reforms and projects.
“Nations are not built by abandoning challenges halfway through. The President has taken the responsibility of leading us through this consequential change. We must fight to consolidate this gain,” he said.
The Enugu governor urged APC supporters to take the campaign beyond the stadium to communities, streets and families across the region.
APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, represented by the Deputy National Chairman (South), Ben Nwoye, also urged the South-East to support the party’s candidates, citing the South-East Development Commission and student loan scheme among the administration’s interventions.
He said the establishment of the commission fulfilled a longstanding demand for a dedicated development institution for the region.
Earlier, Shettima was conferred with the traditional title of ‘Aka Ekpuchi Onwa’, meaning “A Hand Cannot Cover the Moon,” by the Eze Nnodo II of Amagu Autonomous Community, Eze Fidelis Nwonumara, who is also Chairman of the Izzi/Nnodo Traditional Rulers Council.
Accepting the honour, the Vice-President called for the preservation of national unity and the longstanding relationships among Nigeria’s diverse communities.
“I have travelled from the far North-East to the South-East, yet I stand here among brothers and sisters. Our ancestors understood that friendship could cross rivers, mountains and kingdoms. They knew that a stranger who is received with love soon becomes a member of the household. This is the Nigeria we must preserve,” he said.
