By Obinna Uballa
The bitter feud between Senator Uche Ekwunife and Anambra’s First Family has escalated, with the former lawmaker firing back at Mrs. Nonye Soludo, wife of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, insisting that any explanations about her integrity belong only to her husband.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Ekwunife dismissed the First Lady’s recent rejoinder as “misplaced and unnecessary,” stressing that she would not be dragged into what she termed a private “paternity crisis.”
“Without dignifying her with a response or condescending to their low mental level, I make bold to say that Mrs. Nonye Soludo doesn’t owe me all those explanations. She owes her husband those explanations and other actions that could exonerate her and prove her innocence over paternity of her children. Not me!” Ekwunife declared.
The remarks came after Mrs. Soludo, in a Facebook post, pushed back against circulating claims of infidelity, vowing not to “dignify inanities and fabrications,” and stressing that she never met the late former governor, Chinweoke Mbadinuju, whom Ekwunife had alleged she had an affair with.
Ekwunife, however, doubled down, arguing that any DNA tests or oath-taking to prove fidelity should be directed to the governor himself, not outsiders. “She should leave me out of her paternity crisis,” the former senator said. “If Soludo demands a DNA test, let Nonye go ahead with her full chest and do it. Why drag me into her personal and family affairs?”
The senator, who is the APC’s deputy governorship candidate in the fast-approaching election, also took a swipe at the First Lady’s profile. “Without sounding proud, I want to advise Mrs. Soludo to strive harder to achieve one quarter of what I have achieved as a woman whose husband has never held any position but through God’s grace and perseverance,” she said.
The New Diplomat had reported that the war of words traces back to Governor Soludo questioning the authenticity of Ekwunife’s doctorate during a campaign rally, alleging it came from a “fake institution.” That triggered a blistering video rebuttal in which Ekwunife branded the governor “the dirtiest governor in Africa” and taunted him over his personal hygiene.
She then escalated by dragging the First Lady into the mudslinging, alleging an affair with Mbadinuju in a leaked audio recording where she vowed to “open the Pandora’s box” if her reputation continued to be attacked.
Mrs. Soludo quickly responded that she would not exchange words with Ekwunife, likening it to “arguing with a madman,” while maintaining she never knew the late Mbadinuju.
With the November 8 governorship election drawing closer, the Soludo versus Ekwunife clash has morphed from policy disagreements into one of the most personal political battles Anambra has seen in recent years.
Ekwunife ended her latest statement by reiterating her political mission: “Our resolve to save Anambra State from misrule and embarrassment is total, and our will is undaunted.”
