Ebonyi summit: Former governor Egwu rejects Tinubu ’s endorsement,

The first civilian governor of Ebonyi state, Dr Sam Ominyi Egwu, has rejected transfer to show the 2026 stakeholders political summit right into a platform for endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second time period, insisting that the gathering was convened to strengthen governorship zoning and political stability within the state.

Egwu, who chaired the summit held on the Christian Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki, stated the occasion was not a political social gathering affair and was not organised to undertake any presidential candidate.

He spoke in response to a movement moved by the senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, looking for the endorsement of Tinubu for a second time period in workplace.

According to Egwu, the idea of the summit had been mentioned and agreed upon by stakeholders earlier than the occasion, with the first goal of consolidating the zoning association for the governorship place among the many three senatorial zones of Ebonyi state.

He maintained that the gathering was supposed to reaffirm stakeholders’ dedication to the association, which he stated had helped promote peaceable coexistence and tackle issues about marginalisation among the many zones.

The former governor consequently described Nwebonyi’s movement endorsing Tinubu as procedurally invalid and with out impact, arguing that it fell outdoors the agreed function of the summit.

Also talking, former senator representing Ebonyi South, Anthony Agbo, described the summit as a broad-based gathering that transcended political social gathering affiliations.

Agbo stated the gathering would ship a powerful message about how Ebonyi individuals ought to conduct themselves and protect their collective identification forward of the 2027 basic elections.

He additionally dismissed claims that 95 per cent of contributors on the summit belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the determine as a fabrication.

“Whoever did such statistics, I don’t know where he did his survey from that 95 per cent of the people here are from APC,” Agbo stated, pointing to Egwu and different outstanding attendees who weren’t members of the ruling social gathering.

One of the conveners, Obinna Ogba, stated the summit was organised to deliver Ebonyi individuals collectively, encourage dialogue and attain selections that may promote unity and eradicate divisions amongst stakeholders.

He harassed that peace was important to improvement and the survival of democracy, including that political variations shouldn’t stop leaders from working collectively for the frequent good of the state.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, highlighted infrastructure tasks being undertaken by the Tinubu administration, notably highway, bridge and railway developments throughout the South-East.

Umahi stated the tasks would enhance connectivity between communities and states, facilitate commerce and promote financial progress.

He additionally counseled cooperation between the Federal Government and the Ebonyi state authorities in facilitating infrastructure improvement.

The summit’s deliberations have introduced the difficulty of political zoning and the boundaries of stakeholder consensus to the fore, as political leaders navigate questions of equity, inclusion and presidential assist forward of the 2027 elections.