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A report credited to Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo and currently trending on Facebook and other Social Media platforms to the effect that he would after his re- election jail some Catholic Bishops, Priests and other Men of God who received candidates of other parties to campaign in their churches has ignited debate across the state.
People now ask if he ever said the things credited to him. While a cross section of the state’s citizenry doubted it saying it may be one of the social media stunts.
But a great many others said there shouldn’t have been smoke without fire , a reason they contended made the Governor’s Chaplain to write a rebuttal.
According to the social media reports , Soludo had while in a meeting with members of his Campaign Council, on Sunday, October 11, 2025 to appraise their campaigns so far said that the Bishops and Catholic priests and other men of God from other denominations didn’t make him Governor in 2021 ,but that Buhari and Anambra people did and will re- elect him again.
“I don’t need church endorsements . After all, some of the Catholic Bishops and Priests supported Val Ozigbo in 2021 and I still won them clearly.
“So, I don’t need or seek the support of Catholic Bishops of Roman Catholic Church or any other denominations, but only the support of Ndi Anambra to win the November 8, guber polls.
” Unlike some of the other Party candidates who are going from one Bishop and church denomination to the other seeking for endorsements and support as if these church leaders determine the outcome of the elections, they have only one vote, if they vote at all, I will defeat all of them”, he was quoted to have said.
The Governor, the report said had described some church priests and pastors as ” fake prophets and miracle merchants”, who are no better than the”Awka Okuko tiwara aki”, “Onye-Eze Jesus”, and the “Eke Heats” of this world and vowed to allegedly deal with all of them after his envisaged victory on November 8.
The Governor reportedly took a swipe at some clerics like Rev Father , Emmanuel Obinna aka “Ebube Muonso” and some priests and Bishops for allowing some other candidates of other parties to campaign and speak and their gubernatorial ambitions in their churches.
“I don’t need the Roman Catholic Church to win election. And after I finish with the fake Ndi Okeite Dibias deceiving our youth with fake promises and miracle money.
” Soon after my election, I will take on those fake pastors, Rev Fathers, and so called Men of God around Uke, Nnobi, Nnewi and other parts of the state who use churches, fake promises, prophesies and fake miracles to extort money from unsuspecting Ndi Anambra and desperate to deceive our youth as they are no different from those Okeite Dibias.
“Our state needs to be cleansed and sanitized from those false prophets and priests”, the Governor was quoted to have said and charged his campaign council to focus on the electorate at the grassroots who he said know that the Bishops and General Over Seers(GOS) are using them to extort money from politicians.
“It is time that the Bishops and Church leaders are boldly told and made to leave politics for politicians and face their pulpits and job of saving souls for Christ if actually they are called Men of God”, he was quoted to have said.
Now, the question the people of Anambra state now ask is ,Did the Governor say what had been credited to him?
Rev Father Raphael Onyekwelu, PHD, the Chaplain to the Governor has reacted saying that the church should be left out of what he called people’s desperation.and not pit his principal against the church.
He described the report as a trash, ridiculous and malicious fabrication and that Soludo, a Catholic himself holds the church in high esteem.
“Our attention has been drawn to a fabricated, malicious and unsigned trash currently circulating on Facebook and other social media platforms, falsely claiming that His Excellency, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR, plans to “take on the hierarchy of the church especially the Catholic Church” after “he must have won the forthcoming November 8, 2025 governorship election.
“Ordinarily we would not have honored such ridiculous and laughable trash with a response. But this is an election season and all manner of mischievous fake news and propaganda are spewed by desperate politicians to deceive and to destroy.
“The propagandists try to be clever by half. First they acknowledge that Gov Soludo is most certainly going to win, and we can then see why the desperation with fabricated fake news. “After trying in vain to mobilize non-Catholics against him, they now imagine that they can sow a seed of division between Soludo and his own Church— the Catholic Church. Pitiable. They never disclosed what crimes that the “hierarchy of the church” have committed to warrant their “arrest and jail.
“While preaching ecumenism, Governor
Soludo is, himself a celebrated staunch and traditional Catholic, who holds the Catholic Church in the highest esteem and deeply appreciates her noble contributions to good governance, moral formation, education, healthcare, and community development across Anambra State and the world.
“He recognizes the Catholic clergy as vital partners in the social mission of governance — a truth beautifully reflected in the Catholic Social Teaching (cf. Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII).
“Governor Soludo remains deeply committed to working hand-in-hand with the Catholic Church and all religious bodies in advancing the moral, educational, health, economic, and infrastructural growth of our beloved Anambra State. Under his leadership, Anambra continues to witness massive progress, transparent governance, and people-centered development inspired by faith, service, and shared values.
“The Governor has consistently noted that, “Government, Church, and People — we shall continue to build a peaceful, prosperous, livable, and God-fearing Anambra State”, he said.
