By Sunny Igboanugo

Today, November 6, 2025, the campaigns end for all the political parties that will participate in the governorship election, scheduled for Saturday. These parties have put their messages out and now it is decision time. That decision is in your hands. The fate of Anambra is firmly in your hands. How do you go?

But as you ruminate on what you have heard these past few weeks and months it is apposite to pause, take a deep breath and look at the issues clearly. You must reflect on how the journey started, where you were yesterday, where you are today and where you are likely to be tomorrow, given the variables before you. Take time to look at all sides of the coin.

Four years ago, faced with the same setting you donated your votes to Charles Chukwuma Soludo. You didn’t make that choice in a vacuum against a set of agreements. Now rev your minds and recall the key issues against which you took that vital position and ponder on them. I’ll help you.

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Security: Were you not promised that thenceforth, you were going to sleep with both eyes closed? Are you doing so today?
Lest we forget: In December 2024, Reverend Father Emmanuel Obimma, the outspoken Catholic cleric, popularly known as Ebubemuonso declared Charles Chukwuma Soludo as possessed of a reprobate spirit. Please, google what that expression means. I’ve just done and what I found are not palatable at all. Now, why would a clergyman, no less a Catholic cleric, known for reticence and measured approach go that far to use such an extreme phrase to capture the persona of the governor?

The answers are not farfetched. At the time Ebubemuonso spoke, he was reflecting on the parlous state of security in the state, occasioned by the massive carnage, kidnappings and other forms of high crimes and the apparent insensitivity, if not the complicity of the government of Soludo towards tackling it.

In fact, at that time, one of the brother-priests of the vocal cleric, who just returned to Nigeria from the US, was undergoing a testy time in the hands of kidnappers who abducted him at a filling station, where he had packed to buy petrol.

Just as the wincing of the abducted priest was reverberating across the state and beyond, news again broke of another high-profile case – the seizure of Justice Azuka, member representing Onitsha North 1 constituency at the Anambra State House of Assembly, with the government, still, paying scant heed to the development.
Obimma’s heightened frustration was therefore not only obvious, but understandable. He also not only spoke out, but loudly and clearly. Against the backdrop of his palpably lacerating comments, the government was finally roused to action from its hitherto slumbering mode.

The result, after unleashing a horde of attack dogs against the priest and the few other compatriots, who cared to speak out, was the birthing of Operation Udogachi, what it termed the Anambra Homeland Security Laws, under which the now dreaded Agunechemba outfit currently operates.

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But compatriots, what is the result? Is Anambra State safer today, even with the frenzy and audacious commentaries that flowed ceaselessly from the government? I leave you to answer. But before you do, consider the fate of that lawmaker. Yes! What has happened to those people you were told were the culprits in his abduction and subsequent murder?

Yes! Azuka’s remains were later recovered at the foot of the Second Niger Bridge, Onitsha, several weeks later in February – meaning that he was actually in the confinement of his assailants for a long time without rescue. Yes! A lot of fever was generated by the news of the arrest of the abductors. But how has it ended? The matter, as we say here in Nigeria, has entered voicemail.

Indeed, the last I heard of that case was that some of the said culprits escaped from police custody. Now, you needed hear the circumstances under which they were said to have made good their escape. Even a complete retard – an irredeemable imbecile or Mongolian idiot, would be bemused with their incredulous tale.

But let us assume, though difficult to believe that this official side of this sordid story, is credible, have you heard anything else about the other culprits. Shouldn’t their trial have been concluded before now in court and their fate decided? Has Azuka gotten any form of justice.

Now, I ask, my dear compatriots, is this the government you’re going to endorse on Saturday? Do you not smell a rat? Is it not obvious that something is amiss? Can you trust this government? You must consider the answers to these questions. It is not only imperative; you have a right to ask them as well as provide the answers. Yes! It is your right!
Economy:

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Lest we forget: By this time four years ago, you were told that in four years, Anambra would be transformed into the Dubai-Taiwan of Africa. Has that happened? Is there any part of Anambra State that resembles Abuja, Accra or even Lome, not to talk about Dubai or Taiwan? Is there any likelihood that in the next 50 years at the pace of development any part of Anambra would look a fraction of Dubai? Aren’t you smelling deceit? Senator Natasha’s Airport antics and the theatre of distraction

Today, having failed woefully to deliver, they have tactfully changed the narrative. They now tell you that they are building the FOUNDATION. Foundation? Is it in the Uga-Amawbia Road – that unending project that is already undergoing patches and rehabilitation in many areas even before it is concluded?

Compatriots, take a drive through major streets in Awka, Nnewi, Onitsha and other major places in Anambra to understand the psychology and philosophy of the Soludo government. It’ll explain the obvious panic mode that you see today around Soludo and his officials. You’ll begin to realise the reason for you to apply your votes wisely on Saturday.

Ask yourself, what would make a government go into the frenzy of knocking down people’s buildings, and business places including INNOSON Motors Showroom on the pretence of dualising their road, only to engage in the horse and buggy pace the project has witnessed?

You must have heard about the Anyamelum hospital saga, where your dear governor, claimed to have commissioned the “first-ever General Hospital. Lacing it with salt and pepper, our dear Charlie Nwa Mgbafor regaled his audience with the seducing tale of how he not only personally visited the patients upon whom four surgeries were performed “in one day, free of charge,” but gave them “something” for their transportation back home?

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Didn’t you hear how this tale was busted no sooner thereafter with video evidence that your governor lied and that the hospital was still in fact uncompleted, let alone having the more than 200 patients and the 65 staff the governor claimed? How does that resonate with you.

Compatriots! Did you also miss the drama of communities donating money to his campaigns? How much did you contribute in the N250 million your community contributed in aide of support for him to return as governor. My Ogidi compatriots, how much did you donate? Was it to thank the governor for abandoning your community that was almost swallowed by flood recently.

To you students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, you were said to have also donated from your savings to “encourage” your governor and to thank him. It was your gesture of gratitude that he has refused to grant you bursary award or any form of financial relief.
Welfare:

Lest we forget: Compatriots, are you aware that Anambra is among the very few states in Nigeria that is not paying minimum wage. What do you say to a professor who knows the difference between the quality of money as against the quantity of money posting such a dismal outing?

Ndi-Anambra, I do not wish this letter to be too long. So, let me stop here. But before then, you may have heard your governor suggest that only first-class brains in terms of education are fit to govern you. He readily cites Nnamdi Azikiwe, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Akwaeke Abyssinia Nwafor Orizu, Chinua Achebe and the rest. But let me ask which of these great sons of the land has he mimicked in terms of courage and character.

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Zik, it was who confronted the white man and brought independence to Nigeria. Ojukwu, for three good years commanded an army which withstood the whole world – Nigeria, Egypt, United Kingdom, United States and even Russia, who either took direct part in the attempt to annihilate his people or provided deadly weapons to carry out the blitzkrieg that became their lot under the Biafran effort.

What about Nwafor Orizu? Please read up his historic courage as Senate President during the January 1966 coup saga. Now, were you not here when twice, Chinua Achebe threw the national honours awarded him by the Federal Government to their faces? Could this be said of your governor?

If high education is all it takes to be in governance why should the most arguably educated and endowed governor be trembling before a President whose own certificates have remained a subject of controversy and who has not shown publicly proof of primary school education, let alone other levels such attainments, simply because you rely on him for your second term. Where is the courage – the character of Zik, Ikemba and Ugobelunenuoji?

Yes! Our dear governor is a Professor of Economics – of world renown at that – consulting for the highest global institutions. But where has that led us? How better is he head-on with those he claimed to be illiterates and should never be allowed near governance. Has he discharged himself in anyway to suggest his best-brain education?

If yes, in what way? Is it in awarding road contracts? Even a confirmed retard could put pen on paper to award contracts for roads and other projects – not to talk of those that have managed their own businesses, employed labour and empowered people therefrom. So, where does the education bragging rights derive? Wherein lies the prestige of high education when all we see is the crudest form of government business.

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Would Zik, et al, condone the breaking of people’s spines with aka-odo or engage in market-women altercations such as we have witnessed today? Would Achebe be silent after the NYSC lady was stripped to her birthday suit? Ponder on this, my people. You have more than 72 hours to do so.

As you approach the polling booth to cast your votes, ask yourself, where are the Ocha Brigade men that slaughtered four people in Onitsha, including a pregnant woman? What has happened to the culprits that killed the Owelle Ezukala three and other victims of trigger-happy state-sponsored actors? Where are those who killed Okechukwu Akanaeme? How come nobody has heard about the ruffians that stripped the NYSC lady?

Since Dubai-Taiwan is no longer feasible or possible, the next question is what next? What will be the fate of Anambra in the hands of Soludo, four years on if you donate that vote to him? Would you risk it? Think about it!

My name is Sunny Igboanugo – The Tiny Voice!

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The Lagos branch of the All Progressives Congress has emphasized that Nigeria’s collective welfare should supersede political allegiances.

This response followed remarks by Mr. Peter Obi, who ran for president under the Labour Party banner in 2023, concerning the United States’ classification of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” and potential military intervention threats.

The News Agency of Nigeria notes that Obi had characterized the U.S. classification as “deeply concerning,” highlighting security challenges while calling on authorities to safeguard citizens’ safety and liberties.

READ ALSO:: Diri finalizes defection, joins APC officially 

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In a Tuesday statement from Lagos, APC Publicity Secretary Mr. Seye Oladejo argued against turning critical national matters into political issues.

Oladejo characterized Obi’s remarks as displaying “selective outrage” and representing an effort to capitalize on a serious national matter for political positioning instead of showing leadership maturity.

He criticized Obi for what he termed attention-seeking behavior regarding Nigeria’s temporary difficulties.

Oladejo stressed that national cohesion and dignity should inform all public responses to international assessments of Nigeria.

He called on both citizens and political figures to uphold the country’s standing through measured statements and patriotic involvement.

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Oladejo argued that political disagreements must never undermine the shared obligation to safeguard Nigeria’s international standing.

He added that leaders should convey hope and assurance when addressing national difficulties.

“The interest of Nigeria must always rise above politics. We all have a duty to defend our nation’s dignity,” Oladejo said.

The party representative highlighted that President Bola Tinubu’s government is implementing significant measures to enhance security and strengthen administration.

He noted ongoing structural changes aimed at improving military collaboration, intelligence operations, and technological resources for combating security threats.

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Oladejo mentioned that the Federal Government is simultaneously tackling economic factors contributing to insecurity through focused reforms and employment initiatives.

He appealed to Nigerians for continued patience and backing as the Renewed Hope Agenda produces results.

Oladejo stressed that patriotic commitment should unite both leaders and the general population.

He advocated for productive conversation and cooperation among political factions to maintain national advancement.m/

He argued that progress and peace can only flourish when the nation presents a unified front.

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Oladejo indicated the APC values authentic recommendations but warned against declarations that might undermine public trust in the nation.

He reaffirmed Nigeria’s capacity to surmount its obstacles through solidarity, determination, and patriotic dedication.

The News Agency of Nigeria notes that the United States recently placed Nigeria back on its list as a “country of particular concern” citing alleged religious freedom violations.

NAN further reports that Federal authorities dismissed this classification as inaccurate, reiterating their dedication to upholding all Nigerians’ rights and liberties.

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Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has completed his transition to the All ProgressivesCongress (APC).

The governor formalized his membership in the ruling party today, bringing closure to weeks of rumors and confirming his departure from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

READ ALSO: Diri says joining APC was in Bayelsa’s best interest  

Large numbers of people flooded Yenagoa as the proceedings began early in the day. Supporters traveled from across the state, arriving before sunrise—some soaked from early morning rainfall but still committed to attending the significant political shift.

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Major roads were packed with celebrants singing and drumming by 8am.

The Samson Siasia Stadium, where the ceremony took place, hit maximum capacity before 10am. Security forces subsequently closed entry points, referencing safety protocols as thousands more attempted to gain access.

Numerous supporters wearing white-themed clothing and party colors stayed outside the venue, singing and displaying flags.

Diri, who left the PDP approximately two weeks earlier, appeared before party officials and supporters to formalize the defection.

“Bayelsa Governor Diri Officially Defects to APC,” the announcement read at the event, sealing his transition from the opposition party to the ruling APC.

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Multiple prominent political figures attended to receive him.

Distinguished guests present in Yenagoa included Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori along with his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. Also attending were Ondo State Governor Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, and the Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh.

Party officials welcomed the development enthusiastically, characterizing it as significant progress for the APC in the South-South region.

They further promised supporters that the change would deliver enhanced development opportunities and more cohesive political representation for the area.

Diri’s departure concludes his extended history with the PDP, through which he became governor in 2020 and won reelection in 2023 before exiting the party earlier this month.

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