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BENDE, ABIA STATE — The political contest for Bende Federal Constituency has taken a new dimension ahead of the 2027 general elections, with leaders of the Bende North bloc, popularly known as the Umunna Bloc, insisting that the federal constituency seat should return to their area in line with an alleged power-rotation agreement.
The group said the demand was not based on political convenience or an election-season arrangement but on what it described as a binding understanding reached among major political stakeholders in Bende.
According to the Umunna Bloc, the agreement provided that after eight years of representation by Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the seat would rotate to Bende North to allow another part of the constituency to produce the next representative.
The group further alleged that Kalu himself participated in the meeting where the agreement was reached and signed the document arising from the deliberations, with Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and other prominent Bende stakeholders reportedly present as witnesses.
The Umunna Bloc said the existence of the agreement should therefore not be dismissed as political propaganda simply because its implementation has become contentious.
“Succession cannot be waved away as propaganda when it no longer suits some people,” the group said in a statement.
“If you took part in drafting an agreement and signed it, the honourable path is to admit it existed and explain why things should change, not deny it because you are still benefiting.”
The group argued that political agreements are ultimately sustained by trust and the willingness of political actors to honour commitments, particularly when doing so becomes politically inconvenient.
According to the bloc, the principle of rotation was intended to ensure fairness, inclusiveness and equitable representation among the different sections of Bende Federal Constituency.
It maintained that allowing the agreed succession to proceed would strengthen political trust and demonstrate that agreements reached by Bende stakeholders could be relied upon beyond individual electoral cycles.
Consequently, the Umunna Bloc declared that its position for the 2027 election was unequivocal: the federal constituency seat should go to Bende North.
The group has consequently thrown its weight behind Dr. Chimaobi Desmond Anyaso, popularly known as OFUJI, whom it described as its preferred candidate to carry the Bende North mandate into the 2027 contest.
The bloc said Anyaso’s candidacy represents an opportunity to translate the principle of rotation into what it described as effective and inclusive representation for the entire federal constituency.
The development is expected to intensify the political contest in Bende as different interests and political tendencies begin to mobilise ahead of the 2027 elections.
While the Umunna Bloc insists that the alleged agreement provides a clear basis for its demand, the controversy over the existence, terms and continuing validity of the agreement is likely to remain a major issue in the political debate as the election approaches.
For the Umunna Bloc, however, the argument is straightforward: after eight years, it is Bende North’s turn.
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