The Traditional Ruler of Umuobasiukwu Autonomous Community in Ozuitem, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, Eze John Onuoha Akaliro, has refuted claims that traditional rulers and stakeholders in Bende signed an agreement in 2019 to rotate the Bende Federal Constituency seat between the Umunna and Ikwuisii blocs after every eight years.
The monarch’s remarks come amid increasing debate over the zoning of the House of Representatives seat ahead of the 2027 general elections, with some political stakeholders insisting that a binding agreement exists to ensure the position alternates between the two blocs.
Speaking in an interview with journalists, Akaliro, one of the most senior traditional rulers in Abia State, said no such agreement was ever signed or presented before the traditional institution.
The royal father, who has served as 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 now Life Patron of the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, said his extensive involvement in the affairs of Bende would have made him aware of any formal agreement on the matter.
According to him, no document establishing an eight-year rotational arrangement for the federal legislative seat bears his signature or was ever brought before the traditional rulers for endorsement.
He challenged those claiming that such an agreement exists to make the document public, insisting that its authenticity should be verified through the signatures of those allegedly involved.
Akaliro further argued that the political history of Bende Federal Constituency does not support the claim of an eight-year rotation, pointing out that former House of Representatives member Nnenna Ukeje served three consecutive terms.
He maintained that if Bende stakeholders eventually decide to adopt a formal rotational arrangement for the seat, it should be based on the constituency’s established political precedent of three terms rather than an alleged eight-year agreement.
The traditional ruler, however, acknowledged the existence of a long-standing understanding that the two major elective positions in Bende Local Government Area—the House of Representatives seat and the office of the council chairman—should be shared between the Umunna and Ikwuisii blocs.
He explained that the arrangement was intended to ensure that when one bloc occupies the federal legislative seat, the other produces the chairman of the local government council, although he noted that political actors have not always adhered to the understanding.
Calling for peaceful political engagement ahead of the 2027 elections, Akaliro urged all qualified aspirants to be allowed to contest freely without hostility.
He also appealed to politicians and their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully, stressing that political competition should not be allowed to create division among the people of Bende.
