No Rigging in Abia for 2027 Elections, Says Labour Party Candidate

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

Anyaso gave this promise on Sunday during a meeting with stakeholders. He stated that the Labour Party government led by Governor Alex Otti is dedicated to ensuring free and fair 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.”

He added that while candidates will campaign and seek votes, 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.

Anyaso also promised the people of Bende that he would not let them down if elected. He pointed to his experience in business and community service. He has spent over 20 years in the oil and gas, real estate, and hospitality sectors without any failed transactions.

He shared his philanthropic efforts, saying he built a nursery school for the Ndebende community at 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.

Zoning Agreement

On zoning, Anyaso mentioned an agreement made in 2019 at the palace of Eze Patrick Ude in Bende. Stakeholders decided that the Bende Federal Constituency seat should rotate between Bende North and Bende South after the current occupant finishes his term.

He argued that fairness requires the seat to go back to the Bende North bloc. He also supports President Bola Tinubu finishing 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 issues with budget allocation, saying, “That which God has destined and whose time has come, nobody can stop it.”

Anyaso urged his constituents to stay calm, support Governor Otti’s vision, and work for Labour Party candidates' success in the 2027 elections.

A constituent, HRH Eze Uwakwe Ukaegbu, responded by confirming that traditional rulers in Bende Local Government Area agreed the Bende Federal Constituency seat should return to Bende North (Umunna Bloc) after the current Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, finishes his term, which started 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 traditional rulers across the constituency agreed to uphold rotational 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.”