David-Chyddy Eleke reports that as local government elections draw near in Anambra state, the debate on the need to strengthen zoning in the state has been further reechoed.
On August 29, 2026, less than two weeks from now, eligible voters in Anambra state will go to polls to elect chairmen and councillors for the 21 local government areas of the state. Eight months back, the state had also successfully concluded a governorship election where the incumbent, Prof Chukwuma Soludo was reelected and had since been sworn in.
This month’s election brings to the fore once more the unwritten zoning system for political offices that exists in the state which has remained very potent in every election year. Though the pact can be termed a gentleman’s agreement that ensures rotation of power among the three senatorial zones in the state, but it has proven to cure a lot of nuisance associated with politicking, especially multiplicity of candidates, violence and waste of resources.
While the pact was first pronounced by Mr Peter Obi the former governor of the state, who stamped his feet strongly on the ground and insisted on producing a successor from Anambra North, the pact which has continued to determine the zone of successive governor afterwards seems to have been taken a notch further by the administration of Prof Chukwuma Soludo, especially with the coming local government election.
