Ebonyi PDP Youth Leader Condemns Nwifuru’s Threat to Remove Council Chairmen

Francis Okechukwu, the Peoples Democratic Party’s youth leader in Ebonyi State, has condemned Governor Francis Nwifuru’s threat to remove newly elected local government chairmen if they fail to deliver their areas for the All Progressives Congress in elections.

Nwifuru made the statement while inaugurating the chairmen on Wednesday. “If you don’t deliver your local government area for APC during the elections, you will be removed.”

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If you don’t deliver your local government area for APC during the elections, you will be removed.

Speaking to journalists in Abakaliki on Sunday, Okechukwu described the governor’s position as undemocratic and a mockery of the constitutional foundations of local government. He also accused Nwifuru of showing high-handedness and forgetting the non-violent processes that brought him to power.

“Walking the path of the Constitution is not weakness; it is strength. We will not be intimidated into silence or forced into submission. Our commitment is to the rule of law, free and fair elections, and the fundamental rights of every citizen to associate, campaign and vote according to their conscience.”

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Walking the path of the Constitution is not weakness; it is strength. We will not be intimidated into silence or forced into submission. Our commitment is to the rule of law, free and fair elections, and the fundamental rights of every citizen to associate, campaign and vote according to their conscience.

Okechukwu called on PDP youths in all 13 local government areas to remain law-abiding while resisting violence and intimidation. “We urge our members to resist every attempt to suppress legitimate political activity. Violence is not an option, but neither is surrender. We will defend our democratic space within the bounds of the law.”

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We urge our members to resist every attempt to suppress legitimate political activity. Violence is not an option, but neither is surrender. We will defend our democratic space within the bounds of the law.

He said a state governor, as the chief security officer and highest elected public servant in the state, should protect citizens regardless of political affiliation, uphold the Constitution and promote peace and fairness. “A governor who threatens elected local government officials and directs them to crush the opposition has abandoned the moral and constitutional high ground required of that office. Leadership is not about instilling fear; it is about inspiring confidence through good governance.”

Okechukwu warned that any effort to turn the chairmen into instruments of political persecution would face lawful resistance, including possible action through the courts, the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies and public opinion. He also urged civil society groups, traditional institutions, the media and the international community to monitor the governor’s conduct.

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A governor who threatens elected local government officials and directs them to crush the opposition has abandoned the moral and constitutional high ground required of that office. Leadership is not about instilling fear; it is about inspiring confidence through good governance.