Bende North Traditional Rulers Demand Adherence to Reps Seat Zoning Agreement.

Bende North Traditional Rulers Demand Adherence to Reps Seat Zoning Agreement.

Traditional rulers from the Bende North (Umunna) bloc of Bende Federal Constituency have reaffirmed the existence of a zoning agreement for the rotation of the House of Representatives seat between the Umunna and Ikwuisii blocs, insisting that the arrangement should be respected in the interest of equity and peace.

The position was reached during a meeting of Ndi Eze Umunna held at the palace of the Chairman of the Abia North Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze Uwakwe Ukaegbu.

Addressing the royal fathers, Eze Ukaegbu recalled that the zoning agreement was reached and signed in 2019 during a meeting convened at the palace of HRM Eze Patrick Ude.

He explained that the pact provided for the rotation of the Bende Federal Constituency House of Representatives seat between the Umunna and Ikwuisii blocs to promote fairness, justice and peaceful coexistence.

He noted that the rotational arrangement has remained a pillar of unity and political stability in Bende Local Government Area and urged political actors to honour the agreement.

The monarch further recalled that in the 2019 general election, Dr. Chimaobi Desmond Anyaso stepped aside in recognition of the zoning arrangement, despite enjoying broad support, thereby allowing the seat to remain in the Ikwuisii bloc, where the current occupant, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, hails from.

The traditional rulers expressed concern over what they described as attempts to disregard the same agreement that facilitated the emergence of the current representative.

They warned that abandoning the zoning arrangement could undermine the principles of fairness, threaten the existing peace between the two blocs and create unnecessary political tension in Bende Local Government Area.

The royal fathers therefore called on political leaders, stakeholders and residents of the constituency to uphold the zoning agreement, stressing that respect for the arrangement remains crucial to sustaining harmony, unity and political stability in Bende Federal Constituency.