Governor Nwifuru to Opposition: This Is the Beginning, You ‘ll Soon See Real Threat

• Vows to sack LG heads who lose councils in 2027 

•Orders chairmen to ‘deal with’ opposition mercilessly, deliver APC 100% 

•Ohaukwu LG chair takes cue, threatens to make opponents persona non grata

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The political temperature in Ebonyi State has risen sharply over Governor Francis Nwifuru’s open threat to the opposition in the south-eastern state and his comments that despite their complaints of oppression, the real threat will soon begin.

Nwifuru, who spoke during the swearing in of newly-elected council heads, also said he would remove local government chairmen who fail to deliver their local governments to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.

Immediately taking a cue from the governor, one of the newly inaugurated council bosses, the Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Paul Ituma, has subsequently warned opposition politicians to stay away from his area unless they are prepared to submit to the ruling party.

Nwifuru made it abundantly clear that the council officials’ political performance would determine whether they remained in office, urging them to ensure victory for all positions.

The governor’s remarks, captured in a video that has gone viral, went beyond a call for party mobilisation, with Nwifuru explicitly linking the survival of the elected council chairmen to their ability to secure electoral victories for the APC.

“As a local government chairman, if you like, go and sleep, so that another person will take over your house. You will not stop us from winning, but when we win, you know we will win, we will remove you. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

Nwifuru went further, saying he wanted the threat published prominently and directing the chairmen to confront opposition elements in their respective local government areas.

“And it’s also not hidden. So, look, if you like, let it be on the front page of newspapers tomorrow, that I will remove a council chairman that will not be (deliver) in his local government. We will use your councillors and remove you,” he said.

The governor also told the chairmen to “deal with that person mercilessly” if anyone came into their local government areas to undermine the APC.

Nwifuru, who made no attempt to disguise the political nature of his directive, told the chairmen that their responsibility is now to ensure the APC won all available positions in the 2027 elections.

“So as you are going back to your local government now, what you will be talking about is our party. Your prayer is our party to win all the positions. We cannot leave one position for any other political party. We will win 100 per cent for the general election,” he directed.

The governor also dismissed complaints from opposition politicians that his administration was threatening them, insisting that, in his words, “we have not started campaigning” and warning that a more aggressive political confrontation would come when the election season intensifies.

“Like somebody showed to me this morning, our opposition said we are threatening them. We have not started campaigning, we are not threatening you. We will threaten you when the time comes…,” Nwifuru said.

“So nobody is threatening you. We are stating the facts. And we are willing to follow our words with actions,” he added

Nwifuru specifically warned against party disloyalty among the chairmen, telling them not to conceal their political allegiance.

“As a politician, don’t ever try to hide it from anybody. Tell the person openly, it’s either you are with me or you are against me. It’s like that,” he said.

He also warned those within the APC whom he accused of acting as informants for opposition interests.

“I pity those who are here with us and they are informants and they are discussing us. We are not speaking in secret. We have gone above that,” he said.

The governor insisted that there was nothing improper about his political mobilisation, arguing that he was a politician and was entitled to campaign for his party. “We are politicians. We must speak for our party and we must deliver our party,” he said.

The governor’s remarks were followed by an equally combative intervention from the newly sworn-in Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Ituma, who warned opposition parties and their supporters against engaging in political activities in the council except if in favour of the APC.

Ituma, in a video circulating online, appeared to embrace the governor’s directive, telling opposition politicians that they should either submit to the APC or keep away from Ohaukwu.

The council chairman went on to declare that anyone opposed to the governor would be regarded as an enemy, and declared non-compliant persons as persona non grata.

“Anybody who is attacking the governor is my enemy from today,” he said, before declaring that politics is his only business and warned political opponents against interfering with his interests. “My shop is politics,” he said.

He added that anyone who attempts to undermine his political interests would face consequences henceforth.