By James Adamu
A personal assistant to Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu has stepped down from his official role and thrown his weight behind the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Chima Anyaso, who is challenging his former boss in next year’s National Assembly election in Abia State.
The surprise resignation of a top aide to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and his open endorsement of the Labour Party candidate have injected fresh tension into the battle for the Bende Federal Constituency seat ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ugochukwu Nwankwo formally submitted his resignation letter on 8 May 2026, but the development only became public on Saturday after a Facebook post by one Promise Okoro brought it to wider attention.
In the letter, which was addressed to Mr Kalu through the National Assembly’s Human Resources and Staff Development secretary, Mr Nwankwo made it clear that his decision was driven by the upcoming polls.
“I wish to formally inform you that I have resigned my position as your personal assistant. This decision is necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, as we go into the general elections (in 2027),” he wrote.
He also expressed gratitude to the deputy speaker, saying: “I also want to use this medium to thank you for finding me worthy to serve you in that capacity, a gesture I do not take for granted.”
Mr Okoro, who shared a copy of the resignation letter on social media, confirmed the political motivation behind the move, stating that Mr Nwankwo had officially stepped aside as an appointee of the deputy speaker and that their camp had resolved to back Mr Anyaso in 2027.
The LP candidate is currently positioned to challenge Mr Kalu, who has held the Bende Federal Constituency seat for two terms and is now seeking a third term under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Since his resignation, the former aide has taken to his personal Facebook page to level criticisms against his erstwhile principal. In one post, he alleged that members of the deputy speaker’s team had resorted to creating multiple fake Facebook accounts to artificially inflate Mr Kalu’s online popularity.
“The race for who represents Bende Federal Constituency has begun, and it is quite worrisome and unfortunate that the camp of my brother and Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, has chosen the path of self-deceit and make-believe!” he wrote.
He went further, claiming: “The Facebook accounts accompanying this post are fake accounts created to retain support for a sitting House of Reps member and control the narrative on social media.”
Mr Nwankwo also questioned the logic behind such tactics, arguing that they would be unnecessary if the deputy speaker’s performance record was as strong as his camp claimed. “The reality stares them in the face. Real humans in Bende have left them!” he added.
Spear News Nigeria reports that, last month, leadership of Labour Party in Abia State adopted Mr Anyaso as their consensus candidate for the Bende Federal Constituency during the party’s primary election. The same exercise also produced Alex Otti and Enyinnaya Abaribe as consensus flag-bearers for the governorship and Abia South Senatorial District, respectively.
Discussion about this post