The suspension of Hon. Bernard Udemezue, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly representing Anyamelum Local Government Area, has sparked outrage and renewed criticism of Governor Charles Soludo’s leadership style.
Sir Paul Chukwuma, the governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), described the suspension as “a clear signal that Anambra is steadily descending into dictatorship.”
In a strongly worded statement, Chukwuma accused the Soludo-led administration of systematically silencing dissenting voices within the legislature while ignoring urgent issues of insecurity and governance in the state.
“In a democracy, dictatorship starts with gagging the people and their representatives under certain pretenses. Sadly, Anambra under Governor Soludo has slipped into dictatorship,” he said. “The suspension of Hon. Udemezue is symptomatic of the deeper problem the polity has been plunged into by its current chief executive.”
Chukwuma alleged that the state legislature has lost its independence, pointing to what he described as Governor Soludo’s restriction on debates over security challenges in Anambra. “The level of insecurity has gone beyond alarming, yet the House has not debated it. Even when its member, the late Hon. Justice Azuka, was kidnapped, the matter was never mentioned in plenary,” he lamented.
The YPP candidate further criticized the alleged inaction of the judiciary, citing the unresolved industrial action of the Anambra State Judicial Service Commission and the intimidation of the Anambra State Parliamentary Association over labour-related demands.
“To demonstrate the pitiable dictatorship in Anambra further, Soludo has his Akaodo and Agunechemba thugs unleashing untold mayhem on Ndi Anambra. Effectively, he has his own militia that serves his interests. Despite troubling complaints about these groups, they continue to enjoy the full confidence of the governor,” Chukwuma alleged.
He also faulted the governor’s executive style, claiming that State Executive Council meetings have become “a one-way lecture” where commissioners are treated “less than assistant clerks.”
According to Chukwuma, insecurity and governance failures under Soludo have left residents, traders, business owners, lawyers, and lawmakers vulnerable. “Ndi Anambra are suffering and dying for no reason because Soludo has refused to provide leadership,” he charged.
On Hon. Udemezue’s suspension, Chukwuma argued that the move was meant to silence dissent. “This action points to Soludo’s grand plan to intimidate other State House of Assembly members and shut down opposition and criticism in Anambra State,” he warned.
Chukwuma, however, called on Anambra citizens not to lose hope, promising that YPP would restore order and security if given the mandate. “If all these are happening in Soludo’s first term, what then will happen in the unlikely event that he gets a second term? Ndi Anambra must rise up. YPP is driven by the desire to restore joy in Anambra. We will fix this state and hand it back to the people,” he declared.
