‘Do Not Fear, There’ll Be No Writing Of Election Results In Abia’ – LP Candidate Assures Voters

The Labour Party (LP) candidate for Bende Federal Constituency in the 2027 general election, China Anyaso, has assured residents of Abia State that there will be no electoral malpractice during the poll.

Anyaso also promised that adequate security would be provided to protect voters and ensure that their votes count.

He gave the assurance on Sunday at a stakeholders’ meeting, where he said the Labour Party-led administration of Governor Alex Otti was committed to conducting free, fair and credible elections in the state, NEWSNGR reports.

Speaking on behalf of the governor, Anyaso said the state government would not allow anyone to manipulate the outcome of the 2027 election.

He said candidates were free to campaign and canvass for votes but insisted that the legitimate votes of the people would be protected.

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

The Labour Party candidate also assured the people of Bende that he would not disappoint them if elected.

He cited his more than two decades of experience in the oil and gas, real estate and hospitality sectors, saying he had no record of failed business transactions.

Anyaso also highlighted his community service and philanthropic activities, recalling that he built a nursery school for the Ndebende community when he was 26 years old.

According to him, the project was later expanded to include 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.

On the issue of zoning, Anyaso recalled an agreement reached in 2019 at the palace of Eze Patrick Ude in Bende.

He said stakeholders had agreed that the Bende Federal Constituency seat should rotate between the Bende North and Bende South political blocs after the incumbent completed his tenure.

Anyaso argued that fairness and equity required the seat to return to the Bende North bloc after the completion of the current occupant’s tenure.

He also said he supported President Bola Tinubu completing two terms in office before power was transferred 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.

The Labour Party candidate also dismissed allegations linking him to recent controversies surrounding budgetary allocations.

He said his political ambition could not be stopped if it was destined to happen.

“That which God has destined and whose time has come, nobody can stop it,” Anyaso said.

He urged his supporters and constituents to remain calm, continue to support Governor Otti’s vision and work towards the victory of Labour Party candidates in the 2027 elections.

Responding, a constituent and traditional ruler, HRH Eze Uwakwe Ukaegbu, confirmed that traditional rulers in Bende Local Government Area had agreed that the Bende Federal Constituency seat should return to Bende North, also known as the Umunna Bloc, after the completion of the eight-year tenure of the current occupant.

The incumbent, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, began his tenure in 2019.

Ukaegbu, 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 endorsed by traditional rulers across the constituency.

He said the arrangement was intended to uphold the principle of rotational representation between Bende South and Bende North.

“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,” he said.