A personal assistant to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives has resigned. He is now supporting Labour Party (LP) candidate Chima Anyaso ahead of the 2027 National Assembly election in Abia State.
Ugochukwu Nwankwo announced his resignation in a letter dated 8 May 2026. He made this known on Saturday through a Facebook post by Promise Okoro.
In the letter sent to Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu through the Human Resources and Staff Development secretary of the National Assembly, Mr Nwankwo mentioned the upcoming general election as his reason for resigning.
“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),” Mr Nwankwo wrote.
He also expressed gratitude in his letter: “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 shared a copy of the letter on Facebook. He wrote: “For your information, Mr Nwankwo resigned as an appointee of the deputy speaker on 8 May 2026.”
He added: “In 2027, we have decided to support Chima Anyaso.” Mr Anyaso is the LP’s candidate for the Bende Federal Constituency seat currently held by Mr Kalu.
PREMIUM TIMES called one of the phone numbers on the letterhead shared on Facebook. A person who picked up confirmed that the resignation letter was real and that Mr Nwankwo had indeed left Mr Kalu’s office. But the person did not want to give his name.
“The person’s name on the letterhead is my staff. I have told you he resigned, and you are asking for the name of the person,” he said.
A search on Truecaller showed the phone number belongs to Ugochukwu Nwankwo. A look at Mr Nwankwo’s Facebook page also showed he has started criticizing his former boss.
In one of his posts, he accused staff members of the deputy speaker of making fake Facebook accounts to improve 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 continued: “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 questioned the need for such accounts “if Mr Kalu has done so well and is confident that he will be re-elected.”
“The reality stares them in the face. Real humans in Bende have left them!” he added.
PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Deputy Speaker’s spokesperson, Levinus Nwabughiogu, for comments on Mr Nwankwo’s claims. Mr Nwabughiogu asked for the questions to be sent via WhatsApp. The questions were sent, but he had not responded by the time this report was made.
Mr Nwankwo’s resignation comes as political activities are heating up for the 2027 elections in Abia State. Last month, LP leaders chose businessman Mr Anyaso as the party’s consensus candidate for the Bende Federal Constituency seat in their primary election. The exercise also produced Alex Otti and Enyinnaya Abaribe as consensus candidates for the governorship and Abia South Senatorial District.
Mr Kalu, who represents Bende Federal Constituency, is trying for a third term after winning the APC ticket at the party primary. His earlier interest in the governorship race caused division within the APC in Abia. Some APC leaders endorsed him for the governorship, while another group rejected this endorsement, saying no one should be forced as the party’s candidate.
The disagreement grew after the Abia APC changed its earlier zoning arrangement for the governorship ticket, saying the contest is open to candidates from all parts of the state. With this backdrop, Mr Kalu’s aide resigning and backing the LP candidate adds another twist to the race for the Bende Federal Constituency seat.
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