Vice-President Kashim Shettima has appealed to Ebonyi voters to renew the mandates of President Bola Tinubu and Governor Francis Nwifuru when they head to the polls in 2027.
He made the call on Monday at the APC presidential campaign gathering held at Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium in Abakaliki.
Addressing the electorate, Shettima urged them to give APC candidates their votes in the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections. He also sought their support for Nwifuru and the party’s other candidates in the February 6 governorship and state assembly contests.
Shettima praised Nwifuru for keeping political divisions in the state under control, noting that Ebonyi had remained firmly within the APC since his leadership.
He also pointed to the support of past governors Sam Egwu, Martin Elechi and David Umahi for both the sitting governor and the ruling party.
The Vice-President noted that the APC’s influence in the state extended across the legislature, with all three Ebonyi senators, its seven representatives in the House of Representatives and members of the state House of Assembly belonging to the party.
He further mentioned the attendance of former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim at the gathering as a sign of the cooperation among prominent political figures in Ebonyi.
According to Shettima, the Federal Government had extended recognition to the state through political appointments and development projects, which he said should encourage residents to support Tinubu’s bid for a second term.
Among the projects he mentioned were the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Kogi-Nasarawa-Abuja Super Highway, Ndibe Bridge, which connects Ebonyi with Cross River State, the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Expressway and the Okposi-Ohaozara-Ukawu-Abaomege-Cross River Road.
He further announced that the Federal Government had set aside money for renewable energy initiatives in eight communities across the state.
On other development efforts, Shettima said the Renewed Hope Housing Estate was already under construction, while students and other beneficiaries were receiving educational support through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Tertiary Education Development Programme.
He said federal interventions in healthcare also included support for cancer treatment and research, screening for pre-cancer conditions and funding for primary healthcare services in 164 facilities across Ebonyi.
Turning to agriculture, he explained that rice and cassava farmers were benefiting from government assistance in the form of fertilisers, interest-free funding and other agricultural support schemes.
He added that rural road development was expected to make markets more accessible to farmers and improve the transportation of their harvests to consumers.
Shettima also reported that thousands of people in the state had benefited from the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme. He noted that federal job opportunities and digital skills initiatives were also helping young people gain useful competencies and establish sustainable sources of livelihood.
The Vice-President identified the South-East Development Commission, the South-East Vision 2050 and the approved South-East Investment Company as further measures introduced by the Tinubu administration to drive development across the region.
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