2027: Facebook won’t decide Nwifuru’s fate — Ebonyi Elder

Chairman of the Ebonyi state Council of Elders, Engr. Ben Okah, has said social media campaigns and criticisms will not determine the outcome of the 2027 governorship election in the state.

Okah, who spoke during an interaction with journalists in Abakaliki, said political campaigns had shifted from the traditional practice of visiting homes, attending rallies and engaging voters directly to the use of social media content creators.

“Campaign physically. We used to do it in those days when you go to proposed houses one by one and visit their related projects and speak with them, attend the rallies and so on and so forth,” he said.

He alleged that some content creators were being sponsored by people outside the state to create narratives about Ebonyi without adequate knowledge of the realities on ground.

“You can sit in your house in Lagos and call content creators and Facebook boys and give them money. And they will stay in one house in Lagos, one room in Lagos, and create content, create AI pictures so that people will look at it,” Okah said.

The elder argued that online popularity could not automatically translate into electoral support, stressing that politicians seeking power must have genuine grassroots connections with the electorate.

“Who will be his voters? Facebook will be his voter? Do we vote from Facebook’s opinion?” he asked.

Okah said Ebonyi people were more concerned about development, peace and good governance than what he described as “media war,” insisting that the state was enjoying peace under Governor Francis Nwifuru.

“As far as we are concerned, the government of Ebonyi State is moving very smoothly. There is peace in this state, and there is development going on in this state,” he said.

He also dismissed criticisms of the governor’s projects, challenging journalists to verify the claims by visiting project sites across the state.

“I know that you guys have also visited a lot of the projects, and you know what I’m talking about. I believe that before the elections will come, we would have commissioned a lot of them,” he said.

Questioning the grassroots relevance of some of Nwifuru’s critics, Okah said opposition politicians should demonstrate their impact in the state rather than rely solely on social media criticism.

“What is the impact from the person that is running? The governor has no opposition. As far as the state is concerned, who is his opposition? Where is the person? Is he residing in this state? Where is he residing? What has been his impact in this state?” he asked.

He, however, acknowledged the right of opposition parties to criticise the government, but urged them to base their campaigns on issues that would contribute to the development of Ebonyi.

“The people who are in other parties, their job is to oppose the governor,” Okah said, urging politicians to avoid turning the 2027 contest into a “media war that has nothing to do with the state.”

The council chairman expressed satisfaction with Nwifuru’s administration, saying the governor had provided the peaceful environment needed for development, adding: “We are happy with the governance of Governor Nwifuru. We are happy with his governance, and he has given us peace of mind in this state. As far as I’m concerned, the election is concluded and the governor has no opponent.”