From Tears To Treachery: Nneka Asoluka Aids Owerri Cabal’s Assault On Uzodinma — Ohakim’s 2011 Betrayal Replays In 2025
Emeka Ubani (PhD, Columbia University)
It is with deep shock and disbelief that many of us watched a widow, barely two days after burying her husband, mount the podium at a political gathering—not to mourn, not to reflect, not to heal—but to launch a tirade against the sitting governor of Imo State, Dist. Senator Hope Uzodinma. The widow in question, Lolo Nneka Chris-Asoluka, widow of the late Dr. Chris Asoluka, a respected elder statesman, seemed to have traded her black veil of mourning for a megaphone of political grandstanding in record time. A tragedy turned into theatre; a moment of grief, weaponized for political expedience.
Across Igboland, culture and tradition still carry weight. The consensus among respected Igbo women—political leaders, professors, Christian matriarchs, and cultural custodians—is unanimous: what Lolo Asoluka did was nothing short of an abomination. It violates our customs, our values, and the sacredness of mourning. Even in this age of modernity and enlightenment, certain things remain inviolable. A widow, less than 48 hours after her husband’s internment, stepping onto a political stage? Igbo tradition recoils.
But it did happen. On Saturday, July 26, 2025, barely two days after Dr. Asoluka’s funeral in Ihiagwa, Lolo Nneka took center stage at a political summit organized under the guise of “Owerri Honours Dr. Chris Asoluka.” The event, spearheaded by Chief Martin Agbaso, was anything but a tribute. It was a thinly veiled political maneuver designed to relaunch a factional quest for governorship, this time seeking to exploit the fresh memory of a beloved figure. What an insult to the dead!
While many in Imo still processed the pain of losing a fine gentleman, his widow was busy lashing out at Governor Hope Uzodinma. Her grievance? That the governor did not personally attend the funeral, even though he was duly represented by his Deputy, Lady Chinyere Ekomaru. In her words, “the deputy came on her own,” and she cast aspersions on the sincerity of the governor’s condolences. She even alleged that her husband died heartbroken over “lies” from the governor concerning the Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze road.
Let us be honest: this was not the voice of mourning—it was the voice of manipulation. To attribute words of bitterness and accusation to a man on his deathbed—especially a man as refined and temperate as Dr. Asoluka—shows a troubling lack of decorum. Dr. Asoluka, a public servant and intellectual, was never known for reckless accusations or crude outbursts. Even in disappointment, he carried himself with grace. But his wife chose to put sour words in the mouth of a man not yet three days in the grave. How unfortunate!
Did Mrs. Asoluka forget that the day her husband was buried coincided with the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the APC in Abuja—a gathering that every APC governor is constitutionally obligated to attend? The Deputy Governor, an elegant and capable woman, stood in for her principal as is protocol. To dismiss her presence was not only an insult to the governor but also a shameful affront to the women of Imo State. One wonders what message Lolo Nneka sought to send—was it truly about her husband, or about herself?
More telling is the fact that she never officially informed the government of her husband’s death. How could the administration have been expected to respond with full honors when protocol was thrown out the window? Yet, she felt emboldened to chastise a governor for not calling her directly. It is a strange kind of entitlement, one that smacks of political desperation rather than bereavement.
Lolo Nneka’s newfound political oratory also betrays a lack of understanding—or deliberate distortion—of the history of the very road she used as a cudgel. The Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze road was one of the major projects initiated by the Ikedi Ohakim administration. But it was Owerri zone leaders, including the same political family now resurrecting themselves through this so-called tribute, who truncated that project. It was they who threw their weight behind the Okorocha regime, which abandoned the road entirely. The same leaders watched for years as that road decayed, even while their sons served in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In fact, the very road that leads to Federal Polytechnic Nekede, FUTO, and FECOLART—three federal institutions—could easily have been inserted into the federal budget by these so-called Owerri champions. But they didn’t. For 14 years they looked away. Now, when Governor Uzodinma has finally begun work on it, they pretend to be blind. Lolo Nneka calls herself “skeptical.” Skeptical of what? The effort or the sincerity? Or perhaps skeptical that anyone other than their faction can deliver governance?
The real tragedy is not just the death of Dr. Chris Asoluka, but the way his memory is being dragged into the mud by those who should be protecting it. Owerri political actors have once again proven that they will stop at nothing—including exploiting a fresh widow—to advance their selfish agendas. Is this the legacy they want to hand over to the next generation?
Yes, visitors to the Asoluka funeral may have bemoaned the bad roads. But they also passed through the newly dualized Orlu-Owerri road. They used the upgraded Sam Mbakwe International Airport road. They saw the massive works on Owerri-Okigwe road and other inner-city routes that Governor Uzodinma has completed. Why didn’t Lolo Nneka mention those? Selective amnesia, perhaps?
In her haste to become the new rallying point for Owerri zone politics, Lolo Nneka Asoluka has, regrettably, begun her journey on the wrong foot. Turning mourning into campaign, tears into talking points, and grief into grandstanding is not only unbecoming—it is disgraceful. The mission of these Owerri elite to discredit a working governor and revive their fractured political empire must be called what it is: a destruction mission.
But Imolites are not fools. We are watching. We remember. We know who abandoned us and who is rebuilding. May the soul of Dr. Chris Asoluka rest in peace—because those who claim to honor him are doing everything to dishonor his memory.
