2027: No election rigging in Abia, says LP candidate

The Labour Party candidate for Bende Federal Constituency in the 2027 general election, China Anyaso, has promised that there will be no rigging in Abia State. He said there will be enough security to protect voters and their votes.

Anyaso made this promise on Sunday during a meeting with stakeholders. He stated that the Labour Party administration led by Governor Alex Otti is dedicated to ensuring free, fair, and credible elections.

He said, "I’m speaking on behalf of Governor Alex Otti that there will be no rigging of elections anywhere in Abia State come the 2027 general election. Anybody, like the governor said, that is planning to write the election should go and write his will first. There will be no writing of election results in Abia State."

Anyaso added that candidates can campaign for votes, but the government will make sure every legitimate vote is counted.

"There will be adequate security to protect our votes. Do not be scared of anybody calling himself whatever number. Two is bigger than one," he said.

He assured the people of Bende that he would not let them down if elected. He pointed to his experience in business and community service.

He mentioned that he has spent over 20 years in the oil and gas, real estate, and hospitality sectors without any failed transactions.

He also talked about his charitable work, saying he built a nursery school for the Ndebende community at age 26 and later added a primary school.

"Since 2008 till today, we have been training over 500 children for free. They don’t pay a dime. It is there and verifiable," he said.

Anyaso discussed zoning, recalling an agreement made in 2019 at the palace of Eze Patrick Ude in Bende. Stakeholders agreed that the Bende Federal Constituency seat should rotate between Bende North and Bende South after the current term ends.

He argued that fairness means the seat should go back to the Bende North bloc. He also supports President Bola Tinubu completing two terms before power shifts to another region.

"In America, a handshake is an agreement. We agreed in 2019 that after eight years, it will come back to us. Our people are not people you can easily deceive," he said.

He dismissed claims linking him to recent budget allocation issues, saying, "That which God has destined and whose time has come, nobody can stop it."

Anyaso urged people to stay calm, continue to support Governor Otti’s vision, and work towards the success of Labour Party candidates in the 2027 elections.

Responding, a constituent, HRH Eze Uwakwe Ukaegbu, confirmed that traditional rulers in Bende Local Government Area agreed that the Bende Federal Constituency seat should return to Bende North (Umunna Bloc) after the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, completes his term in 2019.

The monarch, who is the Third Deputy Chairman of the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers and the traditional ruler of Igbere in Bende, said the agreement was supported by traditional rulers in the constituency to maintain the principle of rotating representation between Bende South and Bende North.

He said, "I was part of the signing of the document. I signed the agreement. Eze Akaliro, Patrick Ude, we were the four who signed the agreement as leaders of traditional rulers, which had 65 monarchs from Bende."