By Casmir Igbokwe
Hope you still remember Nollywood actress, Chioma Ifemeludike? In 2021, she stirred controversy when she claimed she had an intimate relationship with Apostle Johnson Suleman in a hotel at Ikeja, Lagos, on November 20, 2016. Suleman is the founder of Omega Fire Ministries. On Tuesday, October 29, 2025, she stirred another controversy-cum-drama when she shared some of her campaign photos and videos on the social media.
The actress is one of the 16 candidates contesting the Anambra governorship election coming up on Saturday, November 8, 2025. Appearing in a tight-fitting outfit that set tongues wagging, Ifemeludike described herself as the best candidate in the election. “The lighthouse is about to be lit,” she enthused in a post on X. The Light House is what Anambra Government House in Awka is called. She praised herself for having beauty, elegance and brains and upbraided many male chauvinists in the state who “still believe that a woman who squats to urinate cannot oversee the affairs of the state.”
The same Tuesday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, exhibited his own drama. He was off the mark in his response to a question on TVC News. The television station had sought his views on the rising cases of baby factories and illegal adoption rate in Anambra State. He reportedly responded that nobody had more number of factories in Anambra State than himself and his family. He recalled that many industries that sprang up in the state had died. “Insecurity has killed all of the factories. As a matter of fact, my factory is under lock because they kidnapped my six experts,” he was quoted to have said.
Political farce. Intrigues. Personality attacks. These and more have spiced up the campaigns for this election. Candidates of the two dominant parties – Ukachukwu of the APC and Professor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – have been at the centre of these dramatic events. Soludo not only taunted Ukachukwu about his baby factory blunder; he had also mocked him for allegedly parading F9 in English, Economics, and Mathematics in his General Certificate of Education exam result. It was the deputy governorship candidate of the APC, Uche Ekwunife, who responded in kind. She denigrated Soludo in a video post that attracted huge reactions.
Truly, many of the candidates on parade in the forthcoming election are not up to the quality of candidates in the 2021 poll. The challenge most electorate had then was choosing among the galaxy of stars who contested that 2021 election. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) paraded a personality like Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, a former President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp). The Zenith Labour Party had Professor Obiora Okonkwo, chairman of the boards of many companies including the Dome Entertainment and Hospitality Limited, Solicom Engineering Limited, and United Nigeria Airlines.
The Young Progressive Party (YPP) had the late business mogul and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah; the Accord Party presented Dr. Godwin Maduka, a well-known philanthropist and accomplished Harvard trained medical doctor based in Las Vegas, United States; the APC presented Andy Uba. And of course, Soludo, who represented APGA, won the election overwhelmingly.
Unlike in 2021 when it was an all-male affair, this Saturday’s election has two females out of the 16 governorship candidates. They are Ifemeludike of the African Action Congress (AAC) who happens to be the youngest, and Ndidi Olieh of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
The frontline candidates are Ukachukwu of the APC, Soludo of APGA, Chuma Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jude Ezenwafor of the PDP, George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP), and Paul Chukwuma of the YPP.
Ukachukwu, a businessman from Osumenyi community, served in the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003. He represented Abuja Municipal Area Council/Bwari Federal Constituency. Unfortunately, he is no match to Soludo. He probably banks on the federal might to clinch the ticket. Soludo is aware of this fact and has not missed any opportunity to show President Bola Tinubu that two of them are “progressives working together.”
The PDP candidate, Ezenwafor, is relatively unknown in political circles in Anambra. He is a real estate developer and trade consultant. With the fragmentation and crisis rocking the PDP currently, he stands no chance in the governorship poll. If it was when PDP was strong, he would have contended with a lot of heavyweights in the primary election. But he ran unopposed.
Moghalu of the Labour Party has had a great career in both public and private sectors. He was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). Unfortunately, the LP is not as popular as it was in 2023 when Mr. Peter Obi used the platform to contest the presidential election. The party is currently bedevilled by leadership crisis. This will seriously affect Moghalu in the election. He too stands no chance.
Nwosu of the ADC is an economist and computer technologist. He is the CEO of Jetlink Group Ltd., an ICT firm. ADC became popular when a coalition of opposition politicians decided to use it as the platform to battle the ruling party in the 2027 general election. So far, it seems to have lost its bite. Besides, the party is yet to gain popularity in Anambra. Its candidate in the Anambra governorship poll stands no chance as well.
Chukwuma of the YPP is a good candidate. The First-Class graduate of Philosophy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, founded a group of companies with interest in real estate, construction, and education. This philanthropist was a frontline governorship aspirant in the APC. But he joined the YPP when he lost out in the primary election of the ruling party at the centre. He does not have a chance being that he is from Anambra North. The zoning sentiment in Anambra will play against him because it is generally believed that it is the turn of the South to produce the governor for the next four years.
From all indications, Soludo appears set to return as governor, all things being equal. He has no serious challenger. Like him or hate him, the professor of Economics has a number things going for him. His party, APGA, has overwhelming grassroots support in Anambra. This manifested in the campaign when various communities ended up donating millions of naira to support his re-election campaign.
Soludo had variously worked as a consultant in world renowned institutions like the World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, European Union, African Development Bank and many others too numerous to mention. He had served as the Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo and was the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) between 2004 and 2009. In September 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him as a member of the Economic Advisory Council. He has consulted for many international organizations.
Each of the remaining candidates can best be described as also-ran. They include Geoffrey Onyejegbu of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Vincent Chukwurah of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Onyeze Charles of the Accord Party (A), and Japhet Nweke of the Action Alliance (AA).
Others are Otti Echezona of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Chukwudubem Nweke of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Jerry Okeke of the BOOT Party, and Martin Ugwoji of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will not have problems in conducting this election if it actually prepared well. Gladly, the new INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, has pledged free, fair, and credible poll. After his inauguration by the President last month, Amupitan vowed to restore credibility and public confidence in the country’s electoral system. He pledged to uphold the highest standard of integrity, transparency, and discipline in all their operations. Describing the Anambra governorship poll as a defining moment for the commission, Amupitan said the poll “represents a pivot opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to free, fair, and credible elections.” Nigerians are watching with keen interests.
For President Tinubu, the Anambra governorship poll would serve as a litmus test for Amupitan. He urged the INEC boss to serve with integrity and beyond reproach. “To maintain public trust in the election, electoral integrity must be protected. All aspects of the process – from registration to campaigning, the media access, voting and counting should be transparent, non-violent and credible,” the President said.
Anambra is my home state. I will be home to exercise my franchise. INEC has no reason to fail in this off-cycle election. How it handles the poll will give clues on what to expect in the 2027 general election. Hopefully, the frontline candidates will not engage in do-or-die contest. Nor will the electorate give the umpire any major headache. And contrary to Ifemeludike’s posturing, the state is home for all, including women who squat to urinate. I am already in celebration mood. You can join me if you wish.
