1. Gubernatorial campaign in Anambra State descends into sleaze and mudslinging.
Contestants heightened the noise level for the upcoming November 2025 gubernatorial election in Anambra State this week as Deputy Governorship candidate of the APC, Senator Uche Ekwunife, responded to APGA gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo.
Both of them added to Nancy McPhee’s The Book of Insults. However, their contribution lacked wit, humour, innuendo and other literary devices to make it enjoyable. It was raw and pedestrian.
The verdict of the excited social media is that it is embarrassing, shameful and represents a new low.
The scenario quickly became grist for jokes and derision.
Anambra people, abeg make una dey translate the gubernatorial roforofo for us non-Igbo speakers so that we follow una enjoy am. What are the candidates saying about each other, biko?
MO. A US-based professor from Benue State.
2. Anambra Gubernatorial Race Turns into a Personal Mud-Slinging Match.
The Anambra State gubernatorial campaign has taken a profoundly negative turn, with the two main camps engaging in a cycle of personal attacks that leave little room for policy debate. What started as political banter has evolved into a thoroughly personal feud, involving family members and overshadowing the state’s pressing issues.
The Incumbent’s Opening Salvo
The recent deterioration in discourse began when Governor Charles Soludo departed from his usual focus on his administration’s record. During a campaign event last week, he launched a direct and personal attack against his primary opponent, the APC’s Evangelist Nicholas Ukachukwu, questioning his credibility and stature. More notably, he then turned his focus to Dr. Uche Ekwunife, the APC’s deputy governorship candidate, launching a verbal assault that was widely perceived as derogatory and beneath the office of the governor. Observers criticised this move as a significant misstep that took the political battle “into the gutter.”
The Escalation and Retaliation
The situation escalated dramatically on Monday when Dr. Uche Ekwunife issued a public response. Instead of concentrating on Soludo’s record or outlining her party’s platform, she chose to retaliate harshly, crossing a new boundary. In her rebuttal, she involved Governor Soludo’s wife, Mrs.
Nonye Soludo, in the political dispute—despite her not being a participant in the election. This tactic of attacking a candidate’s family members is widely condemned in political circles as a cheap shot that indicates a slide into a race to the bottom.
A Cycle of Degradation
This exchange represents a troubling tit-for-tat that has characterised the recent phase of the campaign:
1. Soludo’s Gambit: The governor initiated the personal attacks, moving beyond political criticism to target the character of his direct opponents.
2. Ekwunife’s Response: The APC deputy candidate’s retaliation was not a defence of policy or a critique of governance but a further escalation that involved a private citizen, the candidate’s spouse.
Broader Implications and Public Reaction
This mutual degradation has several consequences:
• Erosion of Discourse: The focus has shifted entirely from substantive debates about infrastructure, education, security, and the economy to a spectacle of insults.
• Voter Alienation: Many citizens have expressed disappointment and anxiety on social media and call-in radio programs, lamenting that the contest has become a “fight of insults” rather than a competition of ideas.
• Lost Opportunity: Both camps have squandered the chance to articulate a compelling vision for Anambra’s future, instead choosing to engage in a mudslinging match that diminishes the state’s political culture.
Conclusion: A Race to the Bottom
The current state of the Anambra gubernatorial contest exemplifies the decline in democratic decorum. Governor Soludo’s initial decision to engage in personal attacks has paved the way for this deterioration, and Dr. Ekwunife’s response, which targeted his family, exacerbated it further. Both actions are condemnable and indicate a failure of leadership. The real losers in this exchange are the people of Anambra, who are left with a political dialogue that is poorer, more divisive, and completely disconnected from their daily needs and aspirations. The responsibility now rests with both parties, the media, and civil society to demand a return to an issues-based campaign.
Overview of The Book of Insults by Nancy McPhee
The Book of Insults, compiled by Nancy McPhee, is a light-hearted yet insightful collection of invective, imprecation, and incivility spanning centuries and cultures. First published in 1978, this anthology brings together nearly 1,000 derogatory quotations from literary, political, and historical figures, ranging from ancient times to the modern era. The book is structured as an “amiable history,” showcasing how insults have been wielded with wit, malice, and creativity across different contexts.
DSS invites Meta to remove Omoyele Sowore from its platforms.
A dispute over free speech in Nigeria is playing out internationally following an invitation by the Department of State Security (DSS) to Meta, asking it to remove Omoyele Sowore from its platforms.
DSS slammed Sowore for defaming and disrespecting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Sowore then wrote Meta, defending himself.
Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Barrister Inibihe Effiong led other lawyers to write a memo defending Sowore.
Lawyers representing Omoyele Sowore, a rights activist and politician, have petitioned Meta Platforms Inc., urging the company to reject the Nigerian State Security Service’s (SSS), also known as the Department of State Services (DSS), request to ban or deactivate his Facebook account.
In their letter to Meta, the lawyers described the SSS demand as “unlawful, legally baseless, and a direct threat to constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.”
According to the letter, the laws cited by the SSS in support of its request are “inapplicable and irrelevant,” while the post it referenced does not violate Meta’s Community Standards.
The legal team argued that the SSS improperly shielded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from criticism. “The President has not initiated any legal action against our client. If he feels defamed, he should approach the courts and put his character to the test,” the lawyers wrote.
They accused the SSS of “sycophantically deploying state power for the personal aggrandisement of a politician funded by public resources,” warning that such actions could undermine Nigeria’s democratic development.
Calling on Meta to resist what they described as “a sinister and autocratic demand,” the lawyers stressed that yielding to the request would set a dangerous precedent. “It would embolden the government to clamp down on dissenting voices and further erode democratic freedoms,” the letter read.
The lawyers urged Meta to “stand firmly on the side of freedom of expression, a value the platform is known to uphold.”
As they dispute, observers note that a gag on social media caused the turmoil in Nepal.
Integrity Is A Cleaner
FAIZA Abdulkadir, a cleaner in Maiduguri, returned ₦4.8 million that was mistakenly paid into her account, choosing integrity over temptation.
Her bravery demonstrates that true wealth is measured by character, not money.
It’s not one’s status or circumstances that determine integrity.
We should also implement policies that reward honesty even in our most remote villages.
A round of applause for Faiza.
ICI on Facebook
