2027: Ideyi emerges ADC candidate for Ebonyi South senate seat

The Ebonyi State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has conducted a fresh primary election for the Ebonyi South Senatorial District, with Dr Ideyi Prince Gamax emerging as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general elections.

Gamax was the only aspirant in the exercise and secured all 450 votes cast by delegates to clinch the ticket.

The Returning Officer and Deputy Chairman of the ADC in Ebonyi State, Dr Victor Uduma, announced the result, saying party members from across Ebonyi South participated in the exercise.

“We had the only candidate here, Dr Ideyi Gamax, who had a total of 450 votes.

“Party members from Ebonyi South Senatorial District were particularly enthusiastic and happy and have given him the mandate to represent them in the forthcoming 2027 general election as the ADC candidate,” Uduma said.

Gamax said the exercise was a substitution primary organised as part of the party’s administrative process following an earlier primary held on April 22, 2026, where he also emerged as the senatorial candidate.

The new candidate expressed confidence in the ADC’s chances of winning the senatorial election, saying consultations across Ebonyi South suggested that residents were seeking a change in representation.

According to him, many people in the district now see the ADC as a platform capable of providing effective representation and delivering democratic dividends.

“I am very hopeful. Our people are eager for change, and they are looking at ADC as a vehicle to bring about this change and give us the kind of representation that will benefit our people,” he said.

The ADC State Chairman, Dr Jennifer Adibe-Nwafor, described the exercise as peaceful, saying it was monitored by security agencies, journalists and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

She explained that the substitution primary followed changes to the party’s earlier process, with the national leadership directing the state chapter to conduct a fresh exercise.

Adibe-Nwafor said the primary, held at the ADC state secretariat on Thursday, August 20, 2026, was the authentic substitution exercise recognised by the state chapter and would be submitted to the party’s national leadership.

She also dismissed reports of another primary being conducted elsewhere, saying she was unaware of any parallel exercise.

“If there should be any primaries, I should be the one in charge of the primaries. I am not aware of any other primaries going on anywhere,” she said.

The ADC chairman further disclosed that the party would contest the Ebonyi State local government elections scheduled for August 22, 2026, expressing confidence that the party would perform strongly in the polls.