The crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Ebonyi has taken another dimension following disputes over who flies the party’s governorship ticket.
This is as ADC chieftain and governorship aspirant, Professor Ernest Uchenna Ereke, continues to insist that he emerged the candidate of the party through a replacement primary conducted on September 16,2026.
Ereke’s insistence came on Thursday in Abakaliki after a meeting with ADC stakeholders and supporters from across the state, where he said he was awaiting the final list of governorship candidates to be released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
He said the replacement primary followed the withdrawal of the party’s former governorship candidate, Mba Ude Collins, who, according to him, formally communicated his decision to quit the race and completed the necessary affidavit required under the electoral process.
Ereke said the party subsequently notified INEC of the vacancy and constituted an electoral committee to conduct a replacement primary.
He stated, “Mba Ude Collins willingly wrote that he was no longer interested in the race, and he swore to the necessary affidavits as required by the Electoral Act. He did all of that and informed the party.
“The party, of course, informed INEC of the withdrawal of its governorship candidate from the state. And because there is a window within the INEC guideline to replace candidates, the party set up an electoral committee.”
According to him, the ADC national leadership also notified INEC that a replacement governorship primary would be conducted on September 16, following the withdrawal of the previous candidate.
Ereke maintained that his emergence was the outcome of that process, adding that the party had also conducted replacement primaries for some State House of Assembly positions.
He said, “The party at the national level wrote to INEC that we would be conducting a replacement primary to elect another governorship candidate, since Mba Ude Collins already withdrew from the race. And that was what the party did yesterday.”
The professor said he was confident that his name would appear on the commission’s final list of governorship candidates, which he expected to be released later in September.
“I await the release of the final list of governorship candidates, probably on the 28th or 29th of this month. And I assure you that you will find my name there as the potential governorship candidate of the ADC in Ebonyi State for the 2027 general elections,” he said.
Ereke also dismissed reports of competing claims to the ADC governorship ticket as part of the political activities accompanying the party’s growing presence in the state.
He said the claims and counterclaims had not discouraged him or his supporters, arguing that they underscored the increasing attention being attracted by the ADC.
Earlier, Ereke told party stakeholders that the purpose of the meeting was to formally introduce his emergence and commence preparations for the 2027 governorship campaign.
He said the meeting was also designed to bring party leaders together, acquaint them with developments within the party and begin the formulation of campaign strategies and messaging ahead of the election.
However, the controversy over the ticket has continued, with the ADC leadership structure led by Dr Jennifer Adibe and Mgboroko Chukwudi, the party’s state spokesman reportedly rejecting Ereke’s emergence.
The leadership said no replacement governorship primary producing Ereke was authorised, conducted or recognised by its state executive committee and reaffirmed Tobias Nnabuike Oriji as the candidate produced through the primary process recognised by its structure.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of ADC’s September 4 release of governorship candidates for 28 states, in which Ukpai Mba Udeh was listed as the party’s Ebonyi governorship candidate.
INEC has fixed February 6, 2027, for the governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
