Metro
Nov 6 Election: The 4 Classes of Defectors in Anambra and Why It Matters
By Ginika O. Nweke
In Anambra, there have been several defections in the past few weeks from various political parties to the All Progressives Congress (APC). A closer look at the situation reveals that there are four classes of defectors. Each class has different motivations and expectations from the other. What they all share in common is that none of them is decamping to APC because they feel it is a good party that is good for Anambra and has the interest of Nigerians at heart, or that APC as a party can improve the lot of Anambrarians, and promote economic prosperity and better standards of living for Anambrarians. None of them believe any of this, rather they are all decamping for personal reasons.
Here are the 4 Classes of defectors in Anambra:
1. The Corrupt Who Are Prisoners In Waiting
A large proportion of the people decamping from other political parties to the APC have corruption cases and are being intimidated and threatened by the government to join their party or get jailed. As far as political strategies go, the All Progressives Congress (APC) under President Muhammadu Buhari has been pathetic in its drive for power. They silence political opponents, threaten, blackmail, and intimidate them all to have them defect to the ruling party. As soon as said politicians join the ruling party, their corruption cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) magically disappear.
APC and President Muhammadu Buhari are extremely corrupt and have damaged the fabric of decency in Nigeria. Many people decamping to APC in Anambra are victims of President Muhammadu Buhari’s reign of intimidation and fear. Take for instance Senator Stella Oduah, she is facing corruption and money laundering cases that are wearing her out because she was being intimidated and victimised by President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC goons. She decided to take the magic pill and decamp to APC to quiet the noises and calm the troubled waters. She is now a puppy of APC willing to do their bidding, including turning Anambra into a Fulani enclave where innocent men and women are killed, and their villages taken by Fulani terrorists.
Some other politicians who are members of the Anambra State house of assembly who were elected on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who recently decamped to APC did so because they are corrupt and were being threatened and blackmailed by APC goons to either join the APC or be jailed. They include Hon. Timothy Ifedioramma representing Njikoka 1, Hon Cater D. N. Umeoduagu representing Aguata 1, Hon Lawrence Ezeudu representing Dumekofia, Hon Arthur Chiekwu representing Idemili North, and Hon Edward Ibuzo representing Onitsha North. These lawmakers are hoping to avoid harassment and intimidation by EFCC because they believe they have financial misappropriation cases and in some instances, money laundering cases hanging over their heads and they are pre-emptively hoping to avoid the harassment and intimidation from APC goons, and in the process avoid accountability and prosecution by EFCC.
All Anambrarians and all Anambra voters need to ask themselves if these are the sort of people that should be allowed power. The answer is NO. Handing over Anambra state to sellouts who are prepared to do the bidding of the Fulani expansion agenda is suicidal for Anambrarians.
2. The Sore Losers
This class of defectors did so because they lost their primaries in other political parties or they were disqualified outright by their parties. Since they do not have good sportsmanship and do not understand that in politics you do not serve your agenda, and in a democracy, you serve the people and allow the people to choose their leaders, they felt the best option was to decamp to the ruling party.
One of such people is Hon. Nonso Okafor representing Nnewi North. He was a governorship aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) before the party disqualified him. He felt betrayed by the party when he was disqualified from contesting and decided to throw a tantrum and break all his toys in the pram. Then he gave a long-winded incoherent statement to explain his defection. A percentage of defectors belong to this sore loser camp, and they are hoping that since the ruling party is so corrupt and criminal, they will be given crumbs in some form.
3. The Broke and Money Hungry
Mr. Andy Ubah, the Anambra gubernatorial candidate under the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform has gotten a lot of broke politicians to decamp from their parties to APC by giving some of them money, and because he is now broke himself, he has been making promises to give each one hundreds of millions of Naira if he wins. A large number of defectors did so based on a promise of receiving huge sums of money. Mr. Uba has promised some people N500 million and some others N300 million. Hon. Lynda Chuba-Ikpeazu falls under this category. She has been promised hundreds of millions by Mr. Uba and that is why she decamped from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to APC. Hon. Douglas Egbuna also a former member of the PDP defected to APC because Mr. Andy Ubah promised him hundreds of millions of Naira if he wins the governorship election on November 6.
All of this is already a putrid affair because it becomes clear that none of these people are defecting because of principles or political ideology. It also makes apparent the issue that Mr. Andy Uba is planning to raid the Anambra treasury to settle people and pay debts should he win the election. If he wins no doubt, he will raid the treasury for his personal use but there is no guaranty he will pay the people he is giving promissory notes to decamp to APC. Decades of his track record show that he does not pay his debts or meet his financial obligations.
4. The Coat Tail Riders
Another class of defectors in Anambra are those who are decamping because they feel that Mr. Andy Uba is a master rigger. They are basing their assumption on the rigging Mr. Andy Ubah unleased when he ran and became governor for 17 days back in 2007. They assume he will use the same apparatus to rig and win, and so they are hedging their bets by defecting from other political parties to Mr. Andy Ubah’s party, the APC. They are not strategic, they are pathetic.
The problem with their assumption is that things are different now. First of all, Mr. Andy Ubah is broke and cannot inject money into his campaign the way money was injected into his campaign back then. Secondly, it has been 14 years since then and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) now has better processes to ensure free and fair elections, and to ensure that the votes of Anambrarians will count come November 6. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the electronic transmission of election results are some of the innovations and initiatives that now ensure that Mr. Andy Uba’s rigging of 14 years ago is a thing of the past that will never happen in Anambra again.
Ginika O. Nweke is a legal practitioner and public affairs commentator. She writes from Enugu
The Federal government has suspended the planned closure of Eko Bridge in Lagos State.
The Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, disclosed this during an inspection of the bridge on Tuesday.
He said: “We directed that this bridge be closed. That was about two weeks back, … but our caring President Bola Tinubu is very much concerned about the closure of this Eko Bridge.
“He has asked me to come back here and take a second look at that decision so that we don’t induce much hardship on Nigerians.”
The minister said his team re-assessed the strength of the bridge on Monday, and confirmed that the closure could be suspended at the moment.
“We have done our technical evaluation in line with the president’s directive.
“Putting safety over and above every decision, we have seen that, for now, we are safe, but we won’t get to any situation that any Nigerian on this bridge will not be safe.
“We have agreed on three procedures,” Umahi added.
According to him, the first procedure is not to close the bridge now but monitor the progression or otherwise of the crack.
He said that the crack is not progressing either arithmetically or geometrically at the moment.
“No progression so far. We are comfortable, but crack can occur anytime. I will return here to reassess it,” he stated.
The minister, however, also said there would be remedial work on the bridge.
Metro
Security Expert Hails Ribadu’s Talks with Vance, Rubio As Positive Devt in Counter-Terrorism Fight
The visit by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu to the United States where he held talks with Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has been described as a positive development for Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
A security analyst and columnist, Jas Keita, in a statement says that the meeting underscores the importance of the Nigerian/U. S security relationship.
According to her, the meeting comes at an important time for Nigeria as it seeks to defeat terrorist groups that are seeking to undermine the government, destroying lives and livelihoods across the country.
The statement reads in part: “Security cooperation between the United States and Nigeria were central to these discussions. This comes against the backdrop of escalating terrorist activity in Nigeria. Two weeks ago, ISIS militants killed at least 29 people in an attack in Guyaku, a village in Adamawa state, while Boko Haram killed 11 people during a raid on a village in Borno State. This escalation of violence and destruction poses a serious threat to the social and economic stability of Nigeria. Nigeria must do all it can to destroy the ability and operational capacity of groups such as ISIS or Boko Haram to wage war against its people.
“Despite widespread commentary, driven often by foreign actors, the United States has remained a steadfast ally to Nigeria in its determination to destroy those groups who seek to destroy Nigeria. While some commentators seek to criticise the government for such visits, it’s clear that ordinary people whose lives and livelihoods are being destroyed by these groups, want to see immediate, urgent and effective action against these groups. Working with the United States to empower Nigerian Security forces is the quickest and most effective way to this result.
“Of course, people will remember the 2025 Christmas day strikes where the U.S working with Nigerian security forces undertook a series of attacks against these terrorist groups. But that cooperation continued in the months following the attack. In February, a team of U.S. Special Forces personnel were deployed on the ground. Their mission was to provide direct technical and information support to Nigerian security forces. As well as training support, they have provided invaluable technical and strategic insight developed over decades of providing similar support across the globe.
“This type of support cannot be underestimated. To see a contrast, one simply needs to look at events in Mali and the failure of Russia’s assistance to the government there. Empowering our security forces, ensuring they have the skills and insights is a critical element to ensuring we defeat terrorist groups.
“One of the strands of commentary after the Christmas day strikes was if we even needed American support. Put simply, yes, we are facing a substantial threat from these terrorist groups. They are well armed, well organised and well financed. They are committed to destroying the legitimately elected government and imposing their own vision on our country. They have shown time and time again they have no interest in the welfare of our people, rather they will kill anyone who disagrees with them or simply is in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Nigeria is facing an existential threat from these terrorist groups. They do not care about our way of life or the welfare of our people. Nigeria cannot become prosperous unless it rids itself of these terrorist organisations. The ongoing security crisis creates an environment of instability and fear that means our people cannot expect to thrive. Nigeria has a prosperous economic future ahead and can create a brighter future for all its people, but this cannot happen without a stable and secure foundation. Defeating these groups not only protects the lives of our families but allows Nigeria to build a brighter economic future for all.
“That is why these talks in Washington are so vital. Our country has a strong and committed ally in the United States. Despite what other foreign actors say, they have shown time and time again their willingness to expend resources to support our fight against terrorism. Strengthening and deepening this relationship must be a key strategic priority for our government and we must ensure it endures. Doing so, will ensure our own people have the skills, insights and resources to defeat these groups. Doing so, will provide the stability that will underpin our future economic and social growth.”
The International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) Nigeria has announced plans to host the 33rd edition of its bi-monthly Knowledge Update Series webinar on May 27, 2026, focusing on the use of artificial intelligence in addiction screening and mental health intervention.
The webinar, themed “VibeCheck – An AI Tool for Addiction Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral; From Screening to Real-World Intervention,” will be held online at 3:00 PM WAT.
The session will introduce “VibeCheck,” a digital self-screening assistant designed to support early identification of substance use risks and related mental health concerns using tools such as the WHO ASSIST and PHQ-9 assessments.
The webinar will feature a live demonstration of the platform, practical strategies for integrating the tool into clinical and community workflows, ethical considerations surrounding digital screening tools, and referral pathways for intervention.
Participants will also learn how the platform can be customized for institutional use by healthcare organizations and community-based programmes.
The keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Oluwasikemi Alalade, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos.
Dr. Alalade specializes in child and adolescent psychiatry, substance use disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, and digital mental health innovations. She has contributed to several research projects focused on psychiatric care delivery and technology-driven mental health solutions in Nigeria.
According to ISSUP Nigeria, the webinar is targeted at public health professionals, addiction counsellors, healthcare providers, policymakers, young people, and professionals working within substance use prevention and treatment settings.
The session will be moderated by ISSUP Nigeria President, Dr. Olajumoke Koyeojo and Ejikeme M. Ogueji, Head, Editorial and Webinar Team
ISSUP noted that the webinar aims to promote evidence-based approaches to substance use prevention and strengthen discussions around ethical digital mental health interventions.
Participation is free and open to interested members of the public.
To register for the ISSUP Nigeria webinar on “VibeCheck – An AI Tool for Addiction Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral”, click below:
https://www.issup.net/node/34651?utm_source=chatgpt.com
