- Safiu Kehinde
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has debunked claims of consulting a native doctor for prediction on re-election bid ahead of the 2025 gubernatorial election.
NPO Reported that the governor was captured in a social media post where a native doctor could be seen consulting the oracle while Soludo watched with claims that he was seeking prediction on his chance of winning.
This had sparked reactions from the public who slammed the governor for consulting a traditionalist despite his previous arrests of many native doctors and the demolition of their shrines over alleged involvement in ritual killing and kidnapping.
Reacting to the development in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Christian Aburime.
The governor, according to the statement, held that video clip was misrepresented.
He claimed that the clip was taken during a recent official government meeting with Anambra-based content creators with the said traditional doctor being a content creator .
“For the interest of the general public, the video clip being maliciously circulated and misrepresented, as evidence of native doctor consultation, was taken during a recent official government meeting with Anambra-based content creators. The session, facilitated by the Special Senior Assistant to the Governor on New Media, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, was organised to strengthen the partnership between the State Government and the creative industry as part of Governor Soludo’s commitment in encouraging and supporting Anambra’s creative economy.
“During the interactive session, content creators were encouraged to showcase their talents, ask questions, and share their concerns about the creative industry in the state.
“As part of the presentations, one of the content creators performed a native doctor skit, a common comic genre in Nigerian entertainment, to demonstrate their creative abilities to the Governor and other officials present.” He said.
While reiterating that the event was purely an entertainment, the governor expressed his disappointed in critics and political opponents over alleged deliberate fabrication of malicious narratives.
“This was purely an entertainment performance by a content creator, not a consultation session.
“The State Government thus found it deeply disappointing that critics and political opponents would stoop so low as to deliberately fabricate malicious narratives from an innocent entertainment performance and spread misinformation to mislead the public.
“Rather than engage in frivolous consultations, Governor Soludo has consistently demonstrated his commitment to developing Anambra’s creative economy through investment plans as part of the state’s economic diversification strategy. The recently commissioned SOLUTION FUN CITY project is part of such investment plans.” The statement read further.
Aburime however maintained that the governor need no consultation to win the forthcoming election.
“He urged members of the public and media to disregard the reports.
“The State Government also clarified that Governor Soludo does not need consultations with any native doctor to win reelection, as he relies solely on the support of Ndi Anambra based on his impressive performance and focus on delivering the SOLUTION AGENDA by transforming Anambra State into a livable and prosperous homeland.
“Therefore, the Anambra State Government calls on Ndi Anambra, media channels and social media users to disregard the misinformation concerning the circulated video clip.
” The public is also urged to always verify information before sharing or amplifying content and reject malicious stories sponsored to mislead the public.
“As always, Governor Soludo remains committed to the development of Anambra State and will not be deterred by the antics of desperate political opponents who have chosen the path of falsehood over constructive engagement.” the statement read further