Anambra campaign turns ugly as Soludo, Ekwunife trade barbs over PhD, professorship

The political arena in Anambra State has turned into a theatre of personal insults and academic jibes, after Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo and Uche Ekwunife, the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), exchanged blistering verbal attacks that have now gone viral.

What began as a campaign stump speech by Soludo questioning the authenticity of Ekwunife’s academic qualifications quickly escalated into a no-holds-barred slugfest, with the former senator not only rejecting the allegations but also turning the spotlight on the governor’s own academic and personal record.

Soludo questions Ekwunife’s PhD, slams Ukachukwu

In a viral video from the campaign trail, Soludo launched a scathing critique of Nicholas Ukachukwu, the APC governorship candidate, branding him a “land grabber” who, if defeated at the polls, would have to “return to sand mining” to make a living.

“I have gotten a job for him [Ukachukwu],” Soludo declared. “I know that the land grabbing he is into, he will still be getting something from there. Otherwise, he will meet the people doing sand mining and he will take one tipper to drive because of all the roads I have been building. Tippers are now running smoothly.”

Turning his fire on Ukachukwu’s running mate, Soludo accused Ekwunife of parading a fake doctorate degree obtained from a dubious American institution.

“INEC has a column where, if you are filling your form, you will swear in court that everything you filled is the truth and nothing but the truth,” the governor said. “So this person wrote that she has senior secondary school certificate, then she also said that she has a PhD. But how can you have a secondary school certificate without a diploma, a degree, or a master’s, but suddenly a PhD?”

He claimed an investigation revealed that the certificate was obtained from a “degree mill” that sold certificates for as little as $60, without any accreditation in the United States or recognition by Nigeria’s National Universities Commission (NUC).

“It is a PhD certificate from a fake institution,” Soludo alleged. “Even as a vulcanizer, you can pay money and they will give you the certificate. Yet you’re parading it. It is better for you to just write senior secondary school certificate because that is what you have, and it is enough.”

The governor vowed to make fake certificates a campaign issue after the November 8 election. “When we finish dealing with Okeite [ritualists], we will go after those with the fake certificates because they are confusing our children,” he warned.

Ekwunife fires back: “Smelling professor”

Ekwunife, visibly incensed, responded in kind through another viral video, turning Soludo’s attack on its head. She not only dismissed the allegations about her PhD as “baseless propaganda” but also mocked Soludo’s own professorship and went personal, branding him a “smelling professor.”

“The fake professor that says he is governing a state, please leave me alone,” she shot back. “Soludo, you contested for governor twice and failed before Obiano supported you. For the past three years that you have been governor, it is only suffering and deaths that the state is passing through.”

Citing the deaths of two state assembly members under what she described as “questionable circumstances,” she accused Soludo of failing to investigate or provide leadership.

“You are calling my name; you are saying that my certificate is fake, then go to court,” she said. “Why are you waiting until November 8? You should have gone to court now. You also said that I don’t have a master’s. UNIZIK is close to you; why not go to UNIZIK and ask them?”

Ekwunife went further, challenging the legitimacy of Soludo’s academic laurels. “It appears that your own professorship is different. I now understand what people have been saying, that your professor title is an award and you did not earn it. If you earned it, show us where and how you earned it. It is just an award that your department gave you, and you are making noise.”

She then descended into personal insults, alleging the governor suffered from poor hygiene. “Soludo, has anybody told you that your mouth smells? You are the dirtiest governor in the whole of Africa. Go and tell your wife to buy deodorant for you. When you open your mouth to speak, the odour that comes out is so stinking and embarrassing for a governor.”

“You cannot determine my future”

Ekwunife also accused Soludo of chauvinism, pointing to his earlier claim that “a married woman cannot be governor.” She countered that the governor’s own daughter, now married in Anambra, would fall victim to the same logic.

“Well, let me tell you something, Soludo,” she added defiantly. “I am where I am today without one percent of your support. I can be president tomorrow without your support. You are too small to determine my future. I am where I am today because of hard work, God’s grace, and perseverance, and one million Soludos cannot stop me.”

A race turning toxic

The bitter exchange has thrown Anambra’s political contest into the national spotlight, transforming what should be a debate about governance into a personal slugfest over credentials, integrity, and even hygiene.

For many voters, the spectacle underscores the rising tension as the November 8 governorship election approaches. Rather than issues of infrastructure, security, or economic revival dominating the campaign, Anambra’s political heavyweights are now engaged in an unprecedented public quarrel, each trying to out-insult the other.