REJOINDER: Senator Onwe Dismantles Emma Igwe's 'Tirade' on Gov. Nwifuru

By Senator Emmanuel Onwe 

On 11 August 2026, Chief Emmanuel Igwe, publisher and editor‑in‑chief of The National Issue, released a scathing article accusing Ebonyi State Governor, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, of instigating violence in Ezza South by allegedly making multiple succession promises to rival politicians. Igwe charged that these supposed assurances had fuelled factional violent clashes, with ambitious aspirants turning their supporters into enforcers in a bid to prove dominance.  

This article is a masterclass in political sensationalism, and it deserves to be dismantled with the same ferocity with which it attempts to smear Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru. 

Let us be clear: the governor has not been proven to have made any of these so‑called “multiple promises.” What we are dealing with here is a web of allegations, whispers, and conjecture dressed up as fact. To condemn a sitting governor on the basis of unverified claims is not journalism; it is political theatre masquerading as truth.

The central charge, that Governor Nwifuru privately promised the 2031 governorship to ten different aspirants, is laughable in its absurdity. It presumes that a seasoned political leader would deliberately sow chaos in his own backyard by encouraging factional warfare. 

The governor has consistently emphasised peace, stability, and development in Ebonyi State. To suggest that he would orchestrate violence in Ezza South is not only illogical, it is defamatory. 

The article itself admits: “These claims remain allegations and require independent confirmation.” That line alone should have been the headline, because without evidence, this entire narrative collapses under its own weight of contradictions.

Now, let us turn to the real culprits: the reckless actors on the ground who have mistaken ambition for licence to intimidate, harass, and attack. These individuals are not political heirs; they are political vandals. Their stupidity lies in believing that violence is a ticket to relevance. It is not. Violence is the surest way to disqualify oneself from leadership. The governor cannot be held responsible for the idiocy of men who weaponise youths and divide communities in pursuit of phantom promises. 

If they were truly loyal to the governor, they would be building schools, empowering businesses, and strengthening democracy, not tearing their communities apart.

The irony is glaring. The article itself concedes that “ordinary citizens and political supporters may ultimately bear the cost of a struggle they did not create.” Exactly. The victims here are the ordinary citizens of Ezza South, not the governor. 

The perpetrators are those who have chosen violence over vision, intimidation over ideas. They must be condemned without hesitation. Their actions are not proof of Nwifuru’s strategy; they are proof of their own desperation.

Governor Nwifuru does not need to play petty succession games. His record of governance speaks louder than any rumour. The obsession with 2031 is a distraction from the real work of today: consolidating peace, driving development, and ensuring Ebonyi State remains a beacon of progress. Those who peddle these allegations are not exposing the truth; they are manufacturing chaos. And those who act violently in Ezza South are not proving loyalty; they are proving their own unfitness for leadership.

In summary, the people of Ebonyi deserve leaders who rise above gossip and brutality. The 2031 governorship will not be decided by machetes in the street or whispers in hotel corridors. It will be decided by the people, through ballots, not bullets.

Senator Onwe, Lawyer, Author, Human Rights Activist, Newspaper columnist, Former Commissioner for Information, Founding and Executive Member of Njiko Igbo Movement, Represented Ebonyi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly