By joshua 2027: Ezeh Challenges Opposition to Break Ebonyi’s Political Stranglehold
By Our Correspondent
The Labour Party candidate for Abakaliki/Izzi Federal Constituency, Dr Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, has challenged opposition parties in Ebonyi State to overcome their divisions and forge a common front ahead of the 2027 general elections to challenge what he described as an entrenched political elite.
Ezeh, an Oxford-trained entrepreneur and public affairs commentator, made the call in a press statement on Wednesday, alleging that a privileged circle of political actors had turned public offices and state resources into instruments of personal enrichment, patronage and family succession.
He argued that opposition parties must move beyond individual ambitions and offer voters a credible alternative to what he characterised as elite capture and the concentration of political power among influential families.
“Ebonyi is gradually becoming a state held hostage by a small but very self-serving prebendal political elite,” Ezeh wrote.
He alleged that some political stakeholders who publicly advocate continuity, zoning and stability had failed to demonstrate adequate accountability for their records in public office, accusing some of exploiting political platforms to advance private interests.
The Labour Party candidate also raised concerns over what he described as the growing practice of influential politicians positioning their children for elective offices, arguing that such developments could undermine equal political opportunities and democratic competition.
According to him, the distribution of political appointments and public contracts as patronage has weakened the principle that public institutions should serve the collective interest of citizens.
Ezeh maintained that the major challenge facing Ebonyi was not the opposition itself or competition among ethnic groups, but what he described as a political establishment that had become increasingly insulated from the consequences of its decisions.
He urged opposition leaders to build alliances around accountability, inclusive governance and equitable access to political opportunities rather than allow personal disagreements and individual ambitions to undermine their collective aspirations.
“If Ebonyi is to be saved, the rescue mission will not come from the very people who created the crisis,” he wrote, insisting that a united opposition could provide an alternative to what he described as the politics of inheritance, patronage and elite capture.
However, Ezeh cautioned that opposition unity alone might not guarantee meaningful change, questioning the commitment of some opposition figures to the reforms they advocate.
“But can we trust many in the opposition, or are they merely an extension of the very forces of darkness holding Ndi Ebonyi down?” he asked.
He drew an analogy with the classic war film Saving Private Ryan to underscore his argument that rescuing the state from its present political challenges would require collective sacrifice and a commitment to the common good.
Ezeh, a former Deputy President of the South-East Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (SECCIMA), is the current President of the Ebonyi Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (EBCCIMA).