Ambassador Ephraim Iyke Nwonu, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, House of Representatives candidate for Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State withdrew from the race and declared support for President Bola Tinubu's 2027 re-election bid.
Nwonu, who earlier gave his full support to the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, announced his decision on Saturday in Abuja, in spite of the fact that his name remaining on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, portal as the ADC candidate.
He said he had made the decision to abandon his ambition to represent the constituency in the House of Representatives because of his support for Tinubu and Ebonyi State Governor.
“I am the official ADC candidate for the Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency on the INEC portal, but I have decided to jettison and sacrifice that ambition because of my unalloyed support for Mr President and my state governor,” he said.
In addition, Nwonu revealed that he would join APC stakeholders in Ebonyi State and his constituency to mobilise support for Tinubu and the governor.
According to him, his relationship with Tinubu dates back to 1992 when the President was a senator and his late mentor, Senator Polycarp Nwite, was also in the Senate.
Nwonu said Nwite appointed him secretary of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Nigeria, DPN, in Ebonyi State.
“Senator Nwite appointed me as the secretary of the defunct DPN in Ebonyi State, so I have every reason to be where Tinubu is,” he said.