# Ebonyi Political Leaders Rally Behind Zoning Formula, Back Governor for Second Term

> A stakeholders' summit in Abakaliki endorsed Governor Francis Nwifuru for 2027 and laid out a rotation plan that would hand the governorship to Ebonyi Central in 2031 and Ebonyi South in 2039.

- Source: African Economy
- Canonical URL: https://africaneconomy.net/article/ebonyi-stakeholders-back-zoning-formula-nwifuru-second-term
- Author: African Economy Staff
- Section: Policy & Governance
- Published: 2026-10-21T10:58:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T10:58:00.000Z
- Tags: Nigeria, Ebonyi, Francis Nwifuru, 2027 election, zoning

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Political leaders and stakeholders in Ebonyi State have thrown their weight behind the state's zoning arrangement ahead of the 2027 governorship race, endorsing Governor Francis Nwifuru for a second term while mapping out how power should rotate afterward, according to a report by Guardian Nigeria. The position emerged from the Ebonyi State Leaders and Stakeholders' Political Summit, held at the Christian Ecumenical Centre in Abakaliki.

Attendees argued that since Ebonyi Central and Ebonyi South have each already completed an eight-year run in the governor's seat, fairness requires that Ebonyi North, Nwifuru's zone, be allowed the same full two-term stretch before the seat rotates again. Under the formula stakeholders proposed, power would then move to Ebonyi Central in 2031 and on to Ebonyi South in 2039.

The summit framed the rotation arrangement among the state's three senatorial zones as a stabilizing force in Ebonyi politics since the return of democratic governance in 1999, crediting it with helping keep rival zones invested in the state's political process rather than feeling permanently shut out. Stakeholders said preserving that arrangement, rather than reopening it ahead of 2027, was the surest way to keep that equity intact.

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Originally published by African Economy. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://africaneconomy.net/article/ebonyi-stakeholders-back-zoning-formula-nwifuru-second-term.