Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru of the All Progressives Congress (APC), his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenger, Ifeanyichukwuma Odii, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Senator Paulinus Nwagu, are among 12 governorship candidates cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 governorship election in the state.
Key Highlights
- INEC cleared 12 governorship candidates for Ebonyi’s 2027 election, including Nwifuru (APC), Odii (PDP) and Nwagu (NDC).
- Three women are governorship candidates and four are deputy governorship candidates.
- No person living with a disability is on the governorship, deputy or Assembly lists.
- 238 candidates are contesting the 24 Ebonyi State House of Assembly seats.
- APC, PDP, NDC and SDP are fielding candidates in all 24 constituencies.
The final list, published by INEC at its state headquarters in Abakaliki and across the 13 local government area offices on Saturday, October 10, 2026, also features candidates from several other political parties.
Among them are Mr. Eze Splendour of the Labour Party (LP) and Mr. Ubasinachi Chimeremeze of the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA).
The list also features three female governorship candidates, Nwankwo Martha Ebere of the Action People’s Party (APP), Nwinynya Juliet of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Nwodom Lucy Chinwe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Four women also made the final list as deputy governorship candidates.
However, an examination of the list showed that no person living with a disability featured among the governorship and deputy governorship candidates.
238 Candidates For 24 Assembly Seats
Meanwhile, a total of 238 candidates have been listed to contest the 24 seats in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
Of this number, 210 are male candidates, while 28 are female candidates. The list also showed that no person living with a disability was among the Assembly candidates.
The political parties with candidates in the state House of Assembly election include the APC, PDP, NDC, Social Democratic Party (SDP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Action Democratic Party (ADP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied People’s Movement (APM), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), Labour Party, APGA, APP, DLA, Action Alliance (AA) and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
According to the published list, the distribution of candidates across the parties is as follows: AA, two; APM, 15; ADC, 24; ADP, 24; APC, 24; APGA, 13; APP, two; DLA, eight; LP, 14; NDC, 24; NNPP, 16; PDP, 24; NRM, 15; SDP, 24; PRP, three; and YPP, two.
The figures indicate that the APC, PDP, NDC and SDP have candidates contesting all 24 state House of Assembly seats in the state.
Read also:
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Key Constituency Battles
In Abakaliki North State Constituency, nine candidates are jostling for the seat currently occupied by Victor Nwoke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the APC.
Similarly, nine candidates are contesting in Afikpo North-East State Constituency against the incumbent lawmaker, Ezeali Oluchi, also of the APC.
The contest in Ikwo South State Constituency is expected to attract attention, with 13 candidates from different political parties seeking to unseat the Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Odunwa Moses Ije, who is the APC candidate.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the list was displayed, the Head of the Department of Voter Education and Publicity at INEC in Ebonyi State, Mr. Victor Oko, said the publication was carried out in line with the timetable and schedule of activities approved by the commission for the 2027 general elections.
Oko said the final list for the governorship and state House of Assembly candidates was displayed at the INEC state office and the 13 local government area offices on October 10, 2026.
The publication marks another step in preparations for the 2027 elections, setting the stage for political parties and their candidates to intensify campaigns for the governorship and legislative contests across Ebonyi State.
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