Nwifuru Francis Ogbonna
2023 Gubernatorial Elections (2023)
Francis Nwifuru won the 2023 Ebonyi governorship election as APC candidate with 199,131 votes.
Born: 1 January 1975 (age 51)
State: Ebonyi
Party: All Progressives Congress (APC)
Gender: Male
Qualifications: FIRST SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATE SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE B.S.c
Running Mate: Obila (princess) Patricia Onyemaechi
Bio
Francis Ogbonna Erishi Nwifuru (born 25 February 1975) is a Nigerian politician and lawyer who became Governor of Ebonyi State in 2023. Before his election, he served as Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly from June 2015 to May 2023 and represented Izzi West constituency between 2011 and 2023. He was Deputy Chief Whip of the 4th Assembly (2011-2015) and chaired the House Committee on Lands, Survey, Urban Development, and Environment.
Nwifuru hails from Oferekpe Agbaja in Izzi LGA of Ebonyi State and was born to Chief and Mrs Nwifuru Nwamkpu. He attended Oferekpe Agbaja Community Primary School and Community Secondary School, Nwofe Agbaja, and later studied Building Technology and Wood Work at Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. He also earned a master's degree in Procurement, Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the University of Salford, Manchester, in June 2021.
His political career began in the PDP, where he first contested for a state assembly seat in 2007 and lost, before winning in 2011 on a second attempt. He later served as an Ex-Officio State Executive Member of the PDP in Ebonyi and moved to the APC in 2020. In the 2023 governorship race, he contested with Obila (princess) Patricia Onyemaechi as running mate and won with 199,131 votes.