Nigerian politics has always been a noisy bazaar, but the latest quarrel in Anambra carries the sharp scent of cologne and controversy. Senator Uche Ekwunife, fiery deputy governorship candidate of the APC, did not stop at accusing Governor Chukwuma Soludo of failed leadership. She went further, into the personal.
In a viral video, she charged that Anambra has collapsed under his watch: weekends of weddings and bustling visits replaced by fear and silence. She listed bloodletting, hardship, and hunger as Soludo’s legacy. Then, with a sting, she accused him of poor hygiene, advising his wife to purchase deodorant and mouthwash.
The attack rattled even Nigeria’s seasoned political class. Politics often thrives on insult, but rarely with such domestic imagery. For Ekwunife, the jab was more than a spectacle. She framed Soludo as a professor hiding behind theatrics while failing to secure the state. And she dared him to challenge her degrees in court.
The governor’s wife, Nonye Soludo, did not sit quietly. Through her media office, she rejected claims that she once worked in the discredited Mbadinuju government. She described the allegations as mischief, urging Ekwunife to defend her own doctoral credentials instead of dragging her into the mud.
Supporters of the First Lady insist she was building a career in agriculture and real estate during those years, far from government intrigues. They argue that her popularity in Anambra speaks for itself. In their telling, Ekwunife’s attacks betray desperation, a politician punching wildly at ghosts of the past.
Yet, the imagery lingers. A governor accused of foul odour, a First Lady pressed into battle, an opposition candidate wielding insult like a blade. Beneath the spectacle lies a serious contest for Anambra’s future, one now perfumed with gossip. The people must decide: is this politics as usual, or a carnival spinning out of control?
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