The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State has fixed January 25, 2026, as the date for its primary elections to select candidates for the upcoming local government chairmanship and councilorship polls in the state.
The party’s State Chairman, Stanley Okoro Emegha, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abakaliki on Monday, shortly after a State Executive Council meeting.
According to him, the party has set in motion plans to ensure a smooth and transparent primary election process, noting that preparatory activities would begin earlier in January.
“The primary election for both councillorship and chairmanship will hold on January 25, but the processes will commence earlier in January,” he announced.
Emegha warned that any political appointee under the current administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru who intends to contest must tender their resignation letter no later than December 20, 2025.
“If you are a public servant under the governor’s appointment, you must resign 30 days to the primary election. Anybody that did not resign by December 20, 2025, is not qualified to contest,” he warned.
Naijaonpoint reports that the APC chairman also hinted that the party would soon embark on a membership revalidation exercise once it receives its official registration code. He reassured the public that transparency would guide all aspects of the party’s internal processes.
Emegha emphasised the importance of fairness and openness, especially as the party continues to consolidate its stronghold in Ebonyi.
In what appears to be a major infrastructural push, Emegha announced the commencement of construction work on a new APC state secretariat. He revealed that the new party complex, which is already underway, is projected to be completed within six months.
He described the new facility as bigger than the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, declaring it a symbol of the APC’s dominance and ambition in Ebonyi State.
“The complex and the spaces are far larger than that of the national secretariat. This goes to show that we want to continue to maintain our number one position as a party in Ebonyi State,” he said confidently.
While assessing the political terrain, Chief Emegha boasted that the APC had achieved total political control in Ebonyi, claiming the party now holds all the elective and appointive positions across all tiers of government in the state.
He noted that all the 171 ward councillors, 13 local government chairmen, 24 members of the House of Assembly, all six National Assembly members, and the three senators from the state were currently members of the APC.
According to him, this level of consolidation has made Ebonyi the strongest APC-controlled state in the South-East.
Meanwhile, the party chairman announced that the last remaining opposition federal lawmaker from Ebonyi, Hon. Iduma Igariwey, had officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Igariwey, who represents Afikpo and Edda Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, has reportedly registered in his home ward.
“If I bring the register here, I will show you that this is Itim 001 ward, the ward of Chief Iduma Igariwey. His name is fully written in the register,” Emegha stated, holding up what he claimed to be the membership list.
With this development, Emegha declared that the APC was now unmatched in Ebonyi and was fully prepared for the local government elections.