By** Uchenna Inya,** Abakaliki;** Jude Chinedu, Enugu; Okey Sampson, Umuahia; Stanley Uzoaru and George Onyejiuwa, **Owerri
Six dominant political parties in the South East geopolitical zone are gearing up for next year’s polls, following the commencement of electioneering across the country. The parties include the All Progressives Congress (APC), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Labour Party (LP), all of whom have begun laying out their strategies across the five states of the zone.
Ebonyi: Rival parties urge issue based campaigns as violence sparks alarm
In Ebonyi State, six dominant parties are already campaigning for victory, though the season has been marred by violence that has left the political class deeply unsettled. The All Progressives Congress has called for an issue based campaign, with the party’s state chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, mocking the main opposition PDP and its governorship candidate while urging the opposition to shun inflammatory remarks and character assassination that could undermine the process. He said the party intended to campaign on proof and record rather than noise, insisting that hired content creators from Lagos and Anambra would not be allowed to dictate the tone of the contest, and warning the opposition to be measured in how they speak, promising that the APC was ready to discuss issues rather than trade insults.
The Labour Party in the state said residents would feel its impact once the proper campaign got underway. The party’s chairman, Chief Henry Ude, revealed that candidates for various positions had been consulting with the electorate well ahead of the formal campaign season, though he expressed serious concern about the wave of violence recorded in parts of the state. In Ikwuato Idembia and Amaezekwe, in the Ezza South Local Government Area, several residents were injured and property worth millions of naira was destroyed after political thugs attacked participants at events organised by PDP chieftains.
In a separate and more tragic incident, an elderly man, Ubochi Onwe, was waylaid and killed in Umuogudu Oshia Ngbo, in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area, with his body dumped in a stream as he returned from an APGA political consultation where he had prayed for the party’s candidates, including Chief Tochukwu Ogalagu, who is contesting the Ebonyi/Ohaukwu House of Representatives seat. His killing, which occurred the previous Monday, has caused considerable tension in the local government area and across the state.
Only days later, Shedrack Onele, from Agalegu ward in the Ebonyi Local Government Area, was attacked and left fighting for his life in hospital after hosting a large NDC gathering in the area. Chief Ude said the Labour Party could not be intimidated by the spate of attacks on opposition members, describing the killings and kidnappings as deeply troubling for an administration that had, until recently, been credited with a relatively peaceful record, and insisting that nobody could cow the party or frighten it away from pursuing the change it believes Ebonyi State needs.
The main opposition PDP in the state said it was ready to go into the electioneering season. The party’s chairman, Chukwuma Igwe, called for political tolerance and a level playing field, saying the people of Ebonyi were rooting for the PDP and were tired of the political status quo. He nonetheless expressed displeasure at the political violence recorded in the state, accusing the ruling APC of being behind it, and said the party was concerned by what it described as threats from the ruling party suggesting that no one outside its ranks should be allowed to campaign or hold meetings. Igwe said the PDP had complained to security agencies and appealed to the governor and his team to allow a level playing field, insisting that whoever earns the people’s votes through genuine campaigning should be allowed to win.
The African Democratic Congress in the state also said it was ready for the campaign. The party’s chairperson, Mrs Jenifer Nwafor, disclosed that the ADC was seriously preparing, noting that while the Independent National Electoral Commission had yet to pass the EC9 forms for governorship and state assembly candidates, the party’s senatorial and House of Representatives candidates had already begun their campaigns. She called for a free and fair general election, expressing confidence that the ADC would capture the state if the process was properly conducted.
Abia: Labour Party consolidates grip while rivals press claims of readiness
In Abia State, the ruling Labour Party is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to retain the Government House in Umuahia once the 2027 polls are concluded. The party said it was strengthening its grassroots structures and consolidating its dominance across the state’s 17 local government areas, a position disclosed by the state chairman, Hon. Peter Azubuike, who argued that the party’s continued success would depend on the commitment, discipline and selfless service of every stakeholder, particularly those entrusted with grassroots responsibilities, and said the party would intensify coordination and collaboration with stakeholders ahead of the 2027 elections to secure total victory at every level.
The party’s state publicity secretary, Emenike Iroegbu, said the Labour Party’s return to power in the state was effectively a foregone conclusion, crediting Governor Alex Otti’s performance in office for attracting what he described as unprecedented goodwill, public confidence and political support across Abia State.
The All Progressives Congress, Abia chapter, believes it has what it takes to wrest power from the ruling Labour Party. Speaking on behalf of the state chairman, Chijioke Chukwudi, the party’s publicity secretary, Chief Uche Aguoru, said the APC remains the fastest growing political movement in the state and would continue to expand across every ward, local government area and senatorial district. He expressed confidence that the people of Abia would reject what he called empty promises, lies and dishonesty in favour of genuine leadership, and said the party was targeting not only the three senatorial seats, eight House of Representatives seats and twenty four House of Assembly seats, but also victory in the governorship and presidential elections, assuring President Bola Tinubu of the party’s total commitment to delivering an overwhelming APC victory in the state.
For the Peoples Democratic Party, it is total victory or nothing in 2027. The party’s governorship candidate, Dr Kelechi Anosike, said the PDP’s presence was already unsettling the political system in Abia, arguing that the party’s return to prominence reflected careful and deliberate planning rather than chance, and vowed that having tested what it means to be out of power for three years, the PDP could not afford another cycle in opposition. The African Action Congress is also positioning itself for the Government House, with its governorship candidate, the Nollywood actress Doris Ogala, declaring in a statement that she is certain of victory because she considers herself better prepared than her rivals.
Similarly, the Action People’s Party’s governorship candidate, retired Major General Ijioma Nwokoro Ijioma, expressed confidence of victory and promised to outperform the Otti administration, pledging to prioritise workers’ welfare and tackle insecurity head on. Meanwhile, an aide to the Labour Party’s candidate for Bende Federal Constituency, Chief Chima Anyaso, Stanley Okorie, warned those banking on rigging to have a rethink, insisting that voters who demand their votes be counted cannot be frightened into silence, and that the lesson of the recent Osun experience is that the electorate cannot be permanently bullied, bought or manipulated, since the ballot remains the most powerful weapon available to the ordinary citizen in a democracy.
Enugu: APC highlights achievements while ADC and NDC build grassroots networks
In Enugu State, the APC, ADC and NDC have each declared their readiness for the contest, outlining distinct strategies for winning the governorship race. While the APC is banking heavily on the performance of Governor Peter Mbah and his administration’s projects, the ADC is relying on grassroots structures and the zoning of its governorship ticket to the Enugu North senatorial zone, and the NDC says it is building a strong grassroots structure around an issue based campaign.
The APC’s state publicity secretary, Chief Uche Obute, said the party was prepared to move round the state to showcase what he described as the achievements of the Mbah administration, pointing to projects across the state’s 260 wards, including smart schools and primary health centres, as well as landmark developments such as the International Conference Centre and Enugu Air, which he said had transformed the state’s profile from a civil service economy into a business and industrial hub. Obute was emphatic that the APC had no serious opposition to contend with in Enugu, insisting that rival campaigns amounted to little more than politicians introducing themselves, since there was, in his words, no vacancy at the Lion Building. He predicted that the party would sweep the local government elections by the following month and go on to win every contest in the state in 2027, arguing that the achievements of the Mbah administration made it difficult for opposition candidates to offer voters anything comparable.
On the recent Osun State election and the growing role of the IReV result viewing system, Obute said the APC had no issue with the outcome, stressing that the priority in a democracy is that the votes of the people should count, and that coming second in Osun did not mean the party lacked political strength in that state.
The ADC, in contrast, is approaching the 2027 contest from a different angle. Its legacy chairman in Enugu State said the party had built structures from the polling unit level up to the state level, describing the party as more ready than it had ever been, though he stopped short of predicting outright victory, saying only that the ADC was certain of winning some seats in the state. He identified the party’s support base, the calibre of its candidates and the zoning of the governorship ticket to Enugu North as central pillars of its strategy, arguing that the zone had been politically marginalised and should not have to wait a further sixteen years before contesting the seat again. He described the party’s candidate, Pastor Ozoemena Ojiofor, as a man of integrity with strong grassroots appeal, particularly given the sizeable population of the Nsukka zone, and said the ADC intended to campaign on its manifesto and what it plans to offer the people rather than on personality attacks, appealing to other parties to do the same. On the lessons of the Osun poll, he said the experience underscored the importance of properly transmitting and protecting results, and that the party was training its agents accordingly and would continue to monitor electoral materials to guard against tampering.
The NDC, for its part, is also projecting a strong grassroots structure as the foundation of its 2027 campaign. The party’s Enugu State chairman, Johnpaul Ani, said the NDC’s preparation went well beyond the mobilisation that typically begins only months before an election, explaining that the party had been building structures across the state’s 17 local government areas, wards and polling units capable of surviving the entire electoral process, from voter mobilisation through to polling, result transmission, collation and, where necessary, legal action. Ani said he believed the NDC could win Enugu State, but insisted that confidence was rooted in political realities on the ground rather than bravado, pointing to an electorate he described as increasingly sophisticated and focused on competence, accountability, economic opportunity, security, education, healthcare and the quality of governance.
He said the party was engaging young people, professionals, workers, traders, farmers, women, students and communities across the state, and that its campaign would be fundamentally issue based, built around ideas, competence and integrity rather than inducement or personality politics. On the Osun election, Ani said it offered Nigeria several important lessons, noting that the IReV system had made it possible for citizens, journalists, observers and parties to scrutinise results from polling units, even as he cautioned that technology alone cannot guarantee a perfect election and that a party cannot afford to be strong at the campaign level while weak at the polling unit level.
Imo: Opposition parties activate structures after campaign ban lifted
In Imo State, three opposition parties have signalled their readiness to hit the ground running ahead of the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, even as they say full scale campaign activities are yet to formally commence. In separate statements, officials of the ADC, the All Peoples Party (APP) and the NDC said their structures were being activated following INEC’s lifting of the campaign ban.
The ADC’s publicity secretary, Comrade Ayozie Uchechukwu Ronald, clarified that while INEC has officially lifted the ban on campaign activities, the party’s full campaign proper has not yet begun, even though its internal machinery is already operating at full tilt, with a statewide mobilisation already under way. He disclosed that the party kicked off a comprehensive statewide local government tour across all 27 local government areas of Imo State on 19 August 2026, aimed at sensitising, engaging and mobilising grassroots members and key stakeholders ahead of the campaign season, and said the ADC leadership would soon hold a strategic meeting with all candidates, after which its official campaign council would be unveiled. The APP also declared its readiness, with the party’s spokesperson, Steve Nnadi, saying it was more than prepared to market its candidates and win the elections.
Dr Chima Matthew Amadi, the party’s leader in the state and its senatorial candidate for Imo East, said the APP would resist intimidation and defend every vote during the general election, describing the party’s campaign as one built on ideas rather than empty slogans or vote buying, and drawing on conversations with traders, farmers and artisans across Owerri, Ngor Okpala and Mbaise to shape what he called the party’s manifesto and covenant with the people. He warned that his commitment to a peaceful, issue based campaign should never be mistaken for weakness, cautioning against any attempt to intimidate APP supporters, harass its agents or disrupt its rallies, and vowing that the party would deploy every lawful means available to protect its members and the democratic rights of the electorate.
The NDC, meanwhile, is targeting massive grassroots mobilisation ahead of 2027. The party’s state chairman, Professor James Okoroma, pointed to the recent Osun governorship election as proof that ultimate power lies with the people, insisting that retrogressive forces cannot subvert the democratic will of a determined electorate, and said the NDC was moving into the field for a major mobilisation drive towards 2027, vowing to confront anyone who thinks they can manipulate election results.
The pattern emerging across Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu and Imo suggests a 2027 contest that will be fought as much on the ground, through grassroots structures, zoning arrangements and community mobilisation, as it will be on the airwaves, even as the wave of political violence recorded in Ebonyi in particular casts a troubling shadow over the opening weeks of campaigning in the South East.
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