The traditional ruler of Umuobasiukwu autonomous community in Ozuitem, Bende Local Government Area, Eze John Onuoha Akaliro, has dismissed claims that Bende traditional rulers and stakeholders signed an agreement in 2019 to rotate the Bende Federal Constituency seat between the Umunna and Ikwuisii blocs after every eight years.
Akaliro’s position comes amid growing debate over the zoning of the House of Representatives seat ahead of the 2027 general elections, with some stakeholders insisting that a binding agreement exists to ensure the office rotates between the two blocs.
Regarded as one of the most senior traditional rulers in Abia State, Akaliro said he had served in several leadership positions within the traditional institution, including Chairman of the Bende Traditional Rulers Council, Chairman of the Abia North Council of Traditional Rulers, Chairman of the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, and currently as Life Patron of the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers.
The royal father maintained that, given his active involvement in the affairs of Bende, he would have been aware of any such agreement if it had existed.
According to him, no document establishing an eight-year rotational arrangement for the House of Representatives seat was ever signed by him or presented before the traditional institution.
The monarch challenged anyone claiming that such an agreement was reached to produce the document bearing the signatures of those involved.
Akaliro argued that the history of representation in Bende Federal Constituency does not support the claims of an eight-year rotation, noting that former lawmaker Nnenna Ukeje represented the constituency for three consecutive terms.
He added that if Bende eventually adopts a formal rotational arrangement for the House of Representatives seat, it should be based on precedents that reflect the constituency’s political history of three terms.
Akaliro, however, acknowledged that there had been an understanding over the years that the two major elective positions in Bende Local Government Area, the House of Representatives seat and the council chairmanship, should be shared between the two blocs.
He explained that the principle was for the offices to be alternated, so that when one bloc occupies the federal legislative seat, the other should produce the local government chairman, and lamented that politicians have not always respected that understanding.
While expressing support for a peaceful political process, the traditional ruler said every qualified aspirant should be allowed to contest the election without bitterness, urging political actors and their supporters to avoid unnecessary conflict, stressing that elections should not divide the people of Bende.
