Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State commended the peaceful conduct of the local government elections held during the weekend across local government areas of the state.
The governor disclosed this while chatting with journalists, shortly after he voted at the Eminii 002 Polling Unit, Oferekpe Agbaja, in the Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
He said he was impressed by the massive turnout of voters at the polling unit, and expressed optimism that all APC candidates would emerge victorious at the poll.
Nwifuru harped on competitive elections at all levels, and noted that competition was necessary to ensure that the best candidates emerged to lead the people through a transparent electoral process.
READ ALSO: Ebonyi State Promises Free, Fair Council Polls
His words: “The election was not a war but an opportunity for the people to freely choose their leaders; it is the will of the people.
“You don’t need security when people are choosing candidates in an election. I did not select the candidates; the people selected them, while political parties also selected their candidates.
The electoral process should be allowed to proceed peacefully, for political opponents to also contribute positively to governance by pointing out areas where the government needed to improve.”
In continuation, the governor said, “As the leader of the party in the state, if you ask me, I will tell you that I have no opponent. But other political parties have their candidates, even for the general election, and we expect to have reasonable opponents who can compete with us and also point out our lapses.
“When you have opponents, it is not only about competition. They can also show you things you don’t know. Sometimes, you need opponents because they can expose your shortcomings and areas where you need to improve. So, having an opponent is also good.”
Governor Nwifuru, however, reiterated his support for an APC victory and emphasised his commitment to the victory for the party and its candidates.
Similarly, the member representing Ezza North/Ishielu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Joseph Nwobashi, said the election was conducted peacefully across the polling units in the area.
“We had no issue at all in any of the polling units.The people that came out voted for the candidate of their choice, and the electoral officers recorded their results and went to the collation centre.
“There was no major security challenge in Osho Ward during the exercise. It was hitch-free. We don’t have any security challenge at all. The election was hitch-free,” he said.
On the 2027 general elections, the lawmaker said the election would be determined by the choices of the people rather than the expectations or claims of political parties.
Nwobashi stressed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition political parties would be expected to campaign and seek the support of voters across wards and local government areas in Ebonyi State.
