The immediate past Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has declared that she did not lose the 2023 general elections, vowing to consolidate on her achievements as she formally begins her bid to return to the House of Representatives in 2027.
Onyejeocha, who is the current All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer for the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State, made the declaration during a reception held in her honour in Isuikwuato.
“I didn’t lose in 2023. The records are there. But God has a reason for everything. He sent me on an assignment to the executive and I played my part. I thank God for that phase of life,” she said.
She said she was returning to consolidate on her previous achievements and to complete the projects and programmes she initiated for the people of Isuikwuato/Umunneochi.
“I am running because I still have a lot to offer my people in terms of representation,” she said. “My people trusted my commitment to service, and that was why they voted for me in 2023. I am eager to return and continue working for them.”
Onyejeocha is no newcomer to Nigerian politics. She represented the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives for 16 consecutive years, from 2007 to 2023, making her one of Abia State’s longest-serving federal lawmakers. During her time in the Green Chamber, she served in various capacities, including as Deputy Majority Whip, and chaired key committees including Aviation. She was widely recognised for constituency-focused interventions spanning rural electrification, school rehabilitation, youth empowerment programmes, and road projects.
In 2023, following the general elections, President Bola Tinubu appointed her as Minister of State for Labour and Employment. She served in that role until April 2026, when she resigned to comply with the directive requiring political appointees seeking elective office to step down ahead of party primaries. President Tinubu personally commended her tenure at the Labour Ministry, noting that it brought “stability and administrative calm” to his administration.
The 2023 election in Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency was one of the most contentious in Abia State. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Amobi Ogah of the Labour Party (LP) as the winner, having polled 11,769 votes against Onyejeocha’s 8,752 votes. Onyejeocha rejected the result and challenged it at the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia. In September 2023, the tribunal ruled in her favour, declaring Ogah’s victory invalid and pronouncing Onyejeocha the rightful winner of the election.
However, Ogah appealed the decision. In November 2023, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the tribunal’s judgment, restoring Ogah as the validly elected member representing the constituency. Under Nigerian law, the Court of Appeal’s decision in legislative election disputes is final. At the time, Onyejeocha described the appellate court’s ruling as “a victory in disguise from God” and urged her supporters to remain calm.
Onyejeocha’s return bid has received strong backing within the APC and her constituency.
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In May 2026, she emerged as the party’s flag bearer for the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency after winning the APC primary election as the sole candidate, polling over 9,000 votes. The Abia State APC Vice Chairman for Abia North, Mba Imo Uduma, congratulated her on the victory and pledged the party’s full support. “We will mobilise vigorously to ensure a landslide victory in all wards and polling units in the 2027 general elections,” Uduma said. The Umunneochi Traditional Rulers Council also endorsed Onyejeocha’s return, conferring on her the chieftaincy title “Anyanwu Na Enye Ihie 1” of Umunneochi, describing her as an illustrious daughter and a woman of proven capacity.
At the Isuikwuato reception, community leaders recounted Onyejeocha’s interventions, particularly the reconstruction of the Ururuala–Uturu–Isuikwuato Road, which they described as life-saving. A former chairman of Isuikwuato LGA, Chima Agbaeze, said the road had claimed many lives before Onyejeocha’s intervention, recounting an incident in which a couple and their children died after their vehicle plunged into a ditch while returning home during the Christmas period. “You are God-sent. You saved our lives, you saved our homes, and you restored the Ururuala–Uturu–Isuikwuato Road. You saved the people of Bende. Isuikwuato is indebted to you, and humanity will remember you,” Mr. Agbaeze said. He added that the people of the constituency had missed her voice in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.
Also speaking, Chiamaka Udo Onwuka, founder of the Udoamaka Movement for Good Governance, praised Onyejeocha’s commitment to service, humility and proactiveness, and pledged the group’s support for her re-election in 2027.
As the 2027 general elections approach, Onyejeocha’s campaign will test whether voters in her constituency prioritise her 16-year legislative record and federal ministerial experience over the 2023 election outcome and the pending legal allegations. Her declaration that she did not lose in 2023 is, in effect, an appeal not to the courts — which have already ruled — but to the electorate. Whether the people of Isuikwuato/Umunneochi accept that appeal will be determined at the ballot box in 2027.
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