Nwifuru Francis Ogbonna
Nwifuru Francis Ogbonna is a Nigerian politician from Ebonyi. They have contested 1 election (1 win) across 1 party, receiving 199K total votes. Most recent: 2023 Gubernatorial Elections as All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
Biography
Francis Ogbonna Erishi Nwifuru (born 25 February 1975) is a Nigerian politician and lawyer who is the current governor of Ebonyi State since 2023. He previously served as speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly from June 2015 to May 2023. He hails from Oferekpe Agbaja in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State. Nwifuru represented Izzi West constituency at the Ebonyi State legislature between 2011 and 2023.
He was the Deputy Chief Whip of the 4th Ebonyi State House of Assembly (2011–2015). During that period, he served as chairman Ebonyi State House of Assembly Committee on Lands, Survey, Urban Development and Environment.
His journey into the State House of Assembly was under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), until 2020, when he moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Nwifuru was born into a polygamous family of Chief and Mrs Nwifuru Nwamkpu.
He got enrolled into Oferekpe Agbaja Community Primary School in 1991 and continued his education at the Community Secondary School, Nwofe Agbaja in 1999. His educational activities were not smooth-sailing; he attended school at intervals and joined his brothers in rearing cattle.
Upon concluding his post-primary education, Ogbonna was christened 'Francis' after baptism as a Catholic. He enrolled into Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, to study Building Technology and Woodwork.
He received a master's degree in Procurement, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management from Salford University, Manchester, United Kingdom, in June 2021.
In 2007, he ran for his state constituency in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly but lost. He was later appointed as an Ex-Officio State Executive Member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State.
In March 2011, he took a second shot, winning the election to represent Izzi West Constituency at the Ebonyi State House of Assembly. In that tenure, he became the Deputy Chief Whip and chairman House Committee on Lands, Survey, Urban Development, and Environment.
He was re-elected in 2015 as the 5th speaker of the Assembly. He was also re-elected for the same positions in 2019, becoming the only member to have returned as a two-time Speaker in the history of Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
In 2020, he was elected as the National Vice-Chairman of the South East Conference of State Legislatures of Nigeria.
As the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress during the 2023 Ebonyi gubernatorial election, Nwifuru garnered a total of 199,131 votes cast across the 13 local governments in the state to win the election.
Political Career
Party Positions
Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.
Agriculture
Launches the Irrigate Nigeria Project as a public-private partnership to develop small-scale irrigation and water catchment systems using modern technology to boost agricultural productivity.
Security & Defense
Will deploy modern aerial surveillance and advanced technology to monitor and deter intrusions into oil pipelines, power stations, and other critical national infrastructure in real time.
Environment & Climate
Accelerates the environmental cleanup and re-establishment of fisheries and profitable aquacultural activities in the Niger-Delta region to counter violent extremism and poverty-driven disaffection.
Economy & Trade
Will implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and additional favorable policies to attract investment in deep-water assets within 6 months, including encouraging signature bonus negotiations and royalty reliefs.
Infrastructure
Creates regional industrial hubs in specific zones (North West, North East, South East, South South, South West, North Central) to focus on labor-intensive manufacturing, with tailored investments (e.g., textiles, dry ports, glass, pottery, solid minerals, regulated mining).
Enterprise grant support
Work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to simplify loan processes for commercial banks, mandate federally owned banks to provide low-cost loans to youth-led enterprises, and expand business incubation centers to support youth innovation.
Energy
Will mandate gas metering equipment on all facilities where gas flaring occurs within 6 months and establish a special enforcement unit to monitor compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on gas flaring reduction, with non-compliance leading to financial penalties for affected communities.
Governance & Reform
Reserve at least 3 cabinet positions for individuals under 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 40, and mandate that at least 20% of political appointments to Ministries/Dangomas (MDAs) be reserved for individuals under 40.
Education
Raises the priority of addressing out-of-school children, establishes a task force to review and strengthen programs like school feeding, and aims to reduce disaffected youth recruitment by violent groups.
Healthcare
Will establish a network of upgraded, equipped, and staffed general hospitals in every Local Government Area, tertiary facilities in each State, and world-class specialist hospitals in each geo-political zone to improve healthcare accessibility and quality.
Technology & Digital
Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.
Reliefs and scholarships
Commits to a conditional income support program requiring recipients to meet human capital goals (school attendance, healthcare, nutrition) in exchange for payments.
Other Candidates in Ebonyi
Sources
Bio, State of Origin: Wikipedia ↗
Photo, Date of Birth: Wikidata ↗
Gender, Qualifications: INEC ↗