Early lifeProfile record
Born
Chief Ebuka Onunkwo was born on 3 Dec 1970.
Election participation
Chief Ebuka Onunkwo
2027 senate primary
Won · party primary
THE PERSON- Senatorial district
- Anambra South
- State
- Anambra
- Country
- Nigeria
Party recorded for this electionNigeria Democratic CongressNDCHow to reach
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Public life, in context
The record
over time.
Ebuka Josephat Onunkwo (INEC: ONUNKWO EBUKA JOSEPHAT), styled Chief (Dr), is the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Anambra South Senatorial District in the Senate election of 16 January 2027 (INEC final list, 12 September 2026, which lists him as a 55-year-old man with the SSCE). Born on 3 December 1970 and from Ihembosi in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, he attended Okija Grammar School from 1984; his father…
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Ebuka Josephat Onunkwo (INEC: ONUNKWO EBUKA JOSEPHAT), styled Chief (Dr), is the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Anambra South Senatorial District in the Senate election of 16 January 2027 (INEC final list, 12 September 2026, which lists him as a 55-year-old man with the SSCE). Born on 3 December 1970 and from Ihembosi in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, he attended Okija Grammar School from 1984; his father died in 1986 and, by his account, lack of money kept him from university. The origin of the 'Dr' title has not been found. He trained in the motor-spare-parts trade at the Idiroko border, set up his own spare-parts business in Cotonou around 1994, began importing lubricants from Dubai in 2003 (later also batteries, with a Lagos arm by 2007) and imported the Turkish-made Seahorse brand into Nigeria from 2010. After the Turkish supplier went bankrupt in 2015 (he says he sued in Turkey and lost about $3.2 million), he built Seahorse Lubricant Industries Ltd at Ozubulu, which began production in April 2017; he is its founder, chairman and chief executive. He is styled Eze Ndigbo of Benin Republic, has paid school and exam fees for senior students of Community Secondary School Ihembosi since 2009, received an Anambra State Government education award on 2 September 2021, was named The Sun's Industrialist of the Year 2020 (presented 16 October 2021) and was named ASTUC Youths' 2025 community role model for Anambra South. An All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) member (he says from the Peter Obi era, though he also dates his active politics to October 2024), he sought APGA's ticket for the 16 August 2025 by-election held after Senator Ifeanyi Ubah's death. He led the conclave votes Governor Charles Soludo supervised in July 2025 (six votes in the round reported on 14 July) and disowned a letter circulated in his name about the governor's choice, but withdrew on 21 July 2025, calling it a sacrifice for party peace; Emmanuel Nwachukwu became the consensus candidate. He says he then chaired Soludo's 2025 re-election campaign organisation in Ekwusigo (Ihembosi, in one report). He declared for APGA's 2027 senatorial ticket at Ozubulu in April 2026, joined the NDC at its national convention in Abuja on 9 May 2026 and won the NDC Anambra South primary on 29 May 2026 (option A4; votes not reported). His opponents include Senator Emmanuel Nwachukwu (APGA) and Chibuogwu Ohaelosi (APC). In September 2026, after Soludo called him an 'illiterate factory owner', he said he would not reply to the governor.
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A life in the public record.
15 linked entries · 26 distinct source links
Review dates are separate from event dates.
15 entries · Whole record
1970
IN THE PUBLIC RECORD1984
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDEducation & qualificationsReviewed record
Okija Grammar School
Senior School Certificate (SSCE, as declared to INEC)
- Location
- Okija, Ihiala LGA, Anambra State
- Institution
- Secondary
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
1994
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDWorking lifeReviewed record
Apprentice
Motor spare parts trade, Idiroko border (Ogun State)
- Industry
- Trade (motor spare parts)
- Employment
- Employee
After secondary school he served about three years as an apprentice under a relative in the motor-spare-parts trade at the Idiroko border; he left around 1994, after the CFA franc devaluation, to trade in Cotonou. (As a boy he had briefly been sent to Warri as an apprentice before secondary school.)
Working lifeReviewed record
Founder and trader
Motor spare parts business, Cotonou (Benin Republic)
- Industry
- Trade (motor spare parts)
- Employment
- Founder
Started his own spare-parts business in Cotonou around 1994, first in partnership with a Beninese customs officer whom he later bought out. Start year inferred from the 1994 CFA devaluation he names as the trigger; end year not found.
2003
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDWorking lifeReviewed record
Founder and importer
Lubricant and motor battery import business (Cotonou and Lagos)
- Industry
- Trade (lubricants and batteries import)
- Employment
- Founder
Imported his first container of lubricants from Dubai in 2003, later added motor batteries, opened a Lagos arm (batteries) by 2007 and began importing oil into Nigeria in 2010, including the Turkish-made Seahorse brand; the Turkish supplier failed in 2015 and he moved to local manufacturing (production from April 2017). End year approximate.
2017
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDWorking lifeReviewed record
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Seahorse Lubricant Industries Ltd
- Industry
- Manufacturing (lubricants)
- Employment
- Founder
Founder, chairman and chief executive of Seahorse Lubricant Industries Ltd, Ozubulu (Ekwusigo LGA), which began production in April 2017 with DPR and SON approval after his Turkish supplier of the Seahorse brand went bankrupt in 2015; ISO 9001:2015 certified. Incorporation date not found.
2021
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDHonours & recognitionReviewed record
Anambra State at 30: A Day with Education Builders award
Honoured on 2 September 2021 at Hollywood Event Centre, Awka, for contributions to education, including paying school, WAEC and NECO fees for senior students of Community Secondary School Ihembosi since 2009; presented by Governor Willie Obiano.
- Awarded by
- Anambra State Government (Ministry of Basic Education)
- Category
- education / philanthropy
An award records recognition; it is not an independent measure of performance.
Honours & recognitionReviewed record
Industrialist of the Year 2020 (The Sun Awards)
The Sun newspaper's Industrialist of the Year 2020, presented at the Sun Awards at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, on Saturday 16 October 2021 by Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
- Awarded by
- The Sun (The Sun Publishing Ltd)
- Category
- business
An award records recognition; it is not an independent measure of performance.
2025
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty primaryReviewed record
2025 Senate primary
All Progressives Grand Alliance · Anambra South · Anambra
- Primary result
- Withdrawn
- What this establishes
- A party-stage result, not election to public office
- Recorded winner
- Emmanuel Nwachukwu
APGA nomination for the 16 August 2025 Anambra South senatorial by-election (seat vacant after Senator Ifeanyi Ubah died on 27 July 2024). Onunkwo, an aspirant since October 2024 by his own account, was one of six aspirants listed in January 2025 (357 delegates were then expected to vote). Instead Governor Charles Soludo supervised three 'conclave' rounds in July 2025; in the…
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APGA nomination for the 16 August 2025 Anambra South senatorial by-election (seat vacant after Senator Ifeanyi Ubah died on 27 July 2024). Onunkwo, an aspirant since October 2024 by his own account, was one of six aspirants listed in January 2025 (357 delegates were then expected to vote). Instead Governor Charles Soludo supervised three 'conclave' rounds in July 2025; in the round reported on 14 July 2025 (aspirants, then the seven LGA party chairmen and mayors, voting) he led with six votes in total, ahead of Paschal Agbodike and Emmanuel Nwachukwu. After Agbodike withdrew, Onunkwo withdrew on Monday 21 July 2025 'as a sacrifice for peace', and Emmanuel Nwachukwu became the consensus candidate (TheCable, 24 July 2025). Corrected from 'lost' to 'withdrawn' in the full pass (New Telegraph and 247Ureports, 24 July 2025).
Honours & recognitionReviewed record
Anambra Community Role Model 2025 (Anambra South Senatorial District)
Elected by youth leaders as the 2025 community role model for Anambra South; plaque presented at Old Government House, Awka, at a ceremony presided over by Governor Soludo (represented by the Commissioner for Information).
- Awarded by
- ASTUC Youths (Anambra youth body)
- Category
- civic recognition
An award records recognition; it is not an independent measure of performance.
Working lifeReviewed record
Chairman
Charles Soludo re-election campaign organisation (APGA), Ekwusigo LGA
- Industry
- Politics
By his own account (September 2026) he chaired Governor Soludo's re-election campaign organisation in Ekwusigo LGA for the November 2025 governorship election; Daily Post's report of the same remarks says Ihembosi.
2026
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty membershipReviewed record
Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)
Joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress at its national convention in Abuja on Saturday 9 May 2026; NDC candidate for Anambra South on INEC's final list (12 September 2026).
Current affiliation in the reviewed membership record.
Party primaryReviewed record
2027 Senate primary
Nigeria Democratic Congress · Anambra South · Anambra
- Primary result
- Won
- What this establishes
- A party-stage result, not election to public office
- Recorded winner
- Chief Ebuka Onunkwo
constituency: Anambra South Senatorial District · also listed as: Onunkwo Ebuka Josephat · INEC final list of candidates (Senate), published 2026-09-12 — SN 38, p.16; INEC name: ONUNKWO EBUKA JOSEPHAT; age 55; male; qualification (as declared to INEC): SSCE · Primary: NDC Anambra primaries held across the state on Friday 29 May 2026 (Punch, 30 May 2026); he emerged as the…
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constituency: Anambra South Senatorial District · also listed as: Onunkwo Ebuka Josephat · INEC final list of candidates (Senate), published 2026-09-12 — SN 38, p.16; INEC name: ONUNKWO EBUKA JOSEPHAT; age 55; male; qualification (as declared to INEC): SSCE · Primary: NDC Anambra primaries held across the state on Friday 29 May 2026 (Punch, 30 May 2026); he emerged as the Anambra South candidate; votes and opponents not reported. New Telegraph (30 May and 17 June 2026) confirms the 29 May date and that the primary was conducted by option A4 (direct, open-queue). General-election opponents named by New Telegraph (8 Sep 2026): Senator Emmanuel Nwachukwu (APGA) and Chibuogwu Ohaelosi (APC).
Dates not recorded
KEPT OUTSIDE THE DATED CHRONOLOGYParty membershipReviewed record
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
APGA member; joining date not found. In March 2025 he said he had been a loyal member 'from the time of Peter Obi up to the era of the former governor Willie Obiano', while in July 2025 he dated his active party politics to October 2024 (in politics 'for more than 10 years', April 2026). APGA aspirant for the 2025 Anambra South by-election (withdrew 21 July 2025); declared for its 2027 ticket in April 2026; left for the NDC on 9 May 2026.
Honours & recognitionReviewed record
Eze Ndigbo, Benin Republic (Cotonou)
Leader of the Igbo community in Cotonou, Benin Republic; reported in December 2018 and September 2021. Conferral date and conferring body not found.
- Category
- traditional / community title
An award records recognition; it is not an independent measure of performance.
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