INTERVIEW: Everybody was against me – Actress Ifemeludike speaks on shame, backlash after exposing affair with Apostle Johnson Suleman

Nollywood actress and filmmaker Chioma Ifemeludike, popularly known as IfeDike, is a proponent of indigenous storytelling and is known for producing movies in the Igbo language. Over the years, she has made films such as ‘Mortuary Gate’, Painful Truth ‘, ‘ Commissioner for Happiness ‘, ‘ Plantain Girl ‘, and Made in Heaven. ‘

Her career, which spans more than a decade, began with the YouTube series Corpers Heaven, inspired by her experience during the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Since then, she has built a reputation for telling culturally rooted stories that celebrate the Igbo language.

In 2021, the actress made headlines in 2021 after publicly confessing that she had an intimate relationship with the founder of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman, stirring widespread controversy.

Years after the controversy, Ifemeludike picked herself up and contested the Anambra State governorship election held on November 8, 2025, under the platform of the African Action Congress (AAC). At 36, she was the youngest candidate cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and challenged incumbent Governor Chukwuma Soludo and other candidates.

In an exclusive interview with TheNewsGuru, Ifemeludike speaks about the shame, backlash, and emotional struggles she endured after making the revelation, her decision to resign from the African Action Congress (AAC), her experiences confronting the “sex-for-roles” culture in the Southeast Nollywood industry, and her determination to use advocacy as a tool for lasting impact.

Excerpts:

You recently resigned from the African Action Congress (AAC) just days after withdrawing from the race for the Anambra Central Senatorial District in the 2027 elections. What factors led you to step away from the party and the senatorial contest?

My decision to resign from my ambition to run as candidate for the Anambra central elections despite the fact that there were some decisions my party made that do not align with my personal principles, whether it is political or social, these things contradicts what I represent, what I believe in and what I stand for, which is the fact that,  a person, of Doris Ogala who had some questions to answer aganist a missing child, a petition has been forward to NAPTIF, and the injustice done to this child, baby testimony and his mother, a crippled woman, ever since I heard of this development which happened a long time ago, I think that as individuals we must be accountable for our actions. We must show some form of compassion and sobriety. We need to be sober when we make mistakes. We need to reflect on our actions, which I haven’t seen in this particular individual that I mentioned. So yes, because of She’s contesting as the governorship candidate in Abia state and not just a candidate, if I emerged, also I was a leader in the party in the south east, as the Deputy National Chairman DNC, that this person contradicts what I believe in and what I fight for, the things I hold strong and dear to heart, so the least I can do since all the efforts I made were prove abortive, was to make a decision that will exnorate me.

I just think that it came to a time when the whole process escalated. I have always been in the scene as an active citizen and advocate. I was a NANS comrade while I was in school; I also was the female president of all Nigerian students. I didn’t just wake up and become a governorship candidate. There were traits in me that led me to where I got to, so even while I was acting, I was still participating in the process. I won’t say there was a transition, because I believe that I am still very active in the Nollywood industry, and the political side didn’t just start today, it is being happening side by side with my acting professional career, yes, now is just like having more feathers, so I now have this experience in the political sphere and to add that I read political science. That is what I studied in school. These are just components of myself; I think last year, during the Anambra guber elections, that side of me blossomed.

One of the major issues I faced was demands  for sex in exchanged for roles, I didn’t just experienced it, I counted it, it was one of the advocacies I took up as an actress, I raised my voice against it and this affected me hugely because , some of these executive producers whom we call the marketers, who were the heavy weighs, the engine room and financiers of project in the Southeast movie industy felt like I should not have challenged them, then it kinda led to a blacklisting , as they vehemently fought me ,they resricted roles, you know when you blacklist someone, it means that we have it but we are not going to give you, because you dared to speak up, that’s where I got the name ‘Akaekpuchi Onwa’ because I said to them, irrespective of whatever you feel, because I dared to challenged the status quo, I will shine however way,  so that was a very big tussle and also because there were not many people who were ready to support me in that struggle, and I think, it is because it is either they were benefitcaries  or were wiling to be part of it. It was a difficult struggle to challenge these big shots in the nollywood industry. And this made me crave my own niche, where I started my company, CGI Films, where we produced films in indigenous languages, particularly the Igbo language. I created a brand and had people watch my movies. If that challenge had not come, I probably wouldn’t have been able to achieve all that. It was a challenge, but it also led to a lot of victories for me.

The challenges of the entertainment industry are unique, and those of politics are also unique, because they have their own different demands, mechanisms, and methodologies; these are the different ways that make their challenges unique. For acting, it comes from within; most times, actors do their work with a lot of love for the job. Even when it is tough, they don’t mind. One thing I’ve come to understand in my acting profession is that, despite the challenges and obstacles I faced, they did not deter me. I did not ever feel deflated. In fact, some of the challenges encouraged me.

It is a totally different ball game in politics, as you meet different people. I find politics very challenging because you meet different people and you have to find a way to deal with people. You have to find a strategy to deal with issues, solve problems, and speak to matters as they arise; things can just pop up, and you have to address and solve them.

You are dealing with real-time individual or community situations here; for instance, you want to go to a community and introduce a new party to them. What are you going to say to them? These are people who are already members of a different party. Two things: either you lie to them or genuinely consider their welfare and well-being. For me, it is not a challenge; just like the acting career, most of the people who take on those career paths are actually people who are born with the talent, and the talent comes side by side with the passion, so they don’t tend to see these challenges in a negative way. For me, because I am not just a politician, I am an activist politician. I was an activist for a long time; I only joined politics, and it’s been a year and some months, but I have spent 15 years in activism, advocacy, and volunteering for civil society organisations. For me, I am a humanitarian, so speaking to matters that affect people, wanting to solve problems for people, and talking to the conscience of people comes from a natural love for humanity. In my experience, I don’t see challenges; I only see opportunities to make people’s lives better, to speak to people, to make a difference, to tell people that things can be done in a better way. To change systems, you’ve to come into a place and make the system work.

I withdrew from the race not because I wanted to leave politics; I withdrew because of issues surrouding my party, issues of personal standards. I am not giving up and stopping halfway. I am not giving up or stopping halfway; I am built for this, I am built for politics, I am built for activism, I am built to pave the way, and be the voice that the people need. I am not going to give up on something like that, an assignment. Sometimes you embark on a journey; while you are on that journey, you could have a detour. You could stop by the way and get a break after you discover that the vehicle you took is broken down beyond repair, but you can also continue your journey as long as you do not divert. What happened is a bit of a detour, but I’d be back on track.

I think I deserve some level of commendation, particularly given the controversy that surrounds me, when I made a self-confession about the affair with Apostle Suleman. It was something I decided to share, and I shared it not to make anyone look bad,  but because I needed to clear my conscience; what was inside needed to come out. There are some things that you don’t keep hidden. I want to state categorically that I am a born-again Christian, and that I encountered the Holy Spirit, and this was one of the strong reasons why  I had to come out, because the person we are talking about is a clergyman, and the situation surrounding it,  wasnt also who I am naturally is; this was a situation of peer influence, in circle of the industry where I work. I walked into something I never planned to; I was never into that kinda of life. Then I was influenced to a certain extent; I was lied to because I did not know what the set-up was, what the motive was. I had a different notion, and today we have it as it is. For me, it is not something to be ashamed of; it was a mistake. I admitted it; I was not proud of it, and I was not ready to cover it up because it was a mistake. Yes, I had to come out for my own freedom. I needed to be free from that darkness. I did not want it to be a secret because, from that moment, hell was let loose, and it was from one struggle to another. One of the important things that happened to me which built me, was then, I was no longer the person allow to built my image, the holy spirit,  by the mercies of God,  built me,  through, series of isolation, separation, discliple,  it took me years before i was able to come out from those ashes, and I was set on another course of life. When I look back on this journey, I am amazed at how much God can do for us if we just allow him.  Yes, it is hard because there’s an aftereffect, like backlash, anger, blacklisting; there’s family, there’s Why did you shame us, there’s family, and friends, and community of who would face, do you have the strength? If everyone went around talking about their secret, I don’t think we’d have the world today.. It caused a lot; it is a very painful process. I won’t advise anyone who isn’t strong to go through that path, but it is one path that rebuilds a person. It takes the scales off. I can’t say  that it’s imperfect, but trust me,  if I get a chance, I’d do it all over again

I would advise anyone to go through my journey because it is hard. If I hadn’t gone through that journey, I wouldn’t have to be here. I wouldn’t have known God. There’s a character that the Holy Spirit built in a person. There is an image people who are redeemed must carry, and the Bible says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Jesus Christ did the work for us as Christians, but there’s a place for us. He says, “Confess your sins to another so you’d be healed.” There are some things people do, and they’d just say, I’d just pray and let it go. Not all. That action and obedience helped me. It helped my family spiritually; it did something that would never have been done if it wasn’t that way. If it wasn’t that decision, that morning of bringing that secret into the public space. Some people thought otherwise, but today when they look at my life and see how much I healed and how much I’ve been restored, I am sure they’d look back and say she did the right thing, and it takes courage to do that. I know people want to do it, but again, what is your motive? The motive is very important; is that what God is saying, is that the way he’s saying you should do it? It is something that can either make or mar you, but thankfully, in my own part, it made me stronger; it made me courageous. I mean, there’s nothing you’d bring out on the internet, or controversy that will ever move me. The controversy of Apostle Suliemen was the biggest of it all; I almost lost my life. It was bad. Everybody was against me for standing my ground and shaving off my hair; it was tough, but guess what? They say when the going gets tough, only the tough get going. What I am trying to say is that when you ask God for strength, he gives us tough assignments; that controversy needed to happen to build my capacity to be courageous, to absorb. Now I have a shock absorber so bad that nothing you say to me gets to me. Because the worst has been said to me. The situation built me; I learned a lot, as it disciplined me and gave me a new direction. My life was totally changed and rebranded. It is not by my power but by God. I thank Him for the grace to obey and do it when I needed to. It was a major character-reshaping for me, and through me, many young people have learnt; people were also influenced positively. My life story teaches young people how not to make mistakes even in the first instance. And that’s the thing: if more people admitted their errors, we wouldn’t have the world we have today, because unfortunately, the society we have today is a society of perfectionists; everyone wants to look perfect, meanwhile everyone is terrible on the inside. I am not interested in putting out a perfect look, but showing that I am a human being; I make mistakes, and I don’t stay in my mistakes, and no matter what comes to me, I’d get back on my feet, keep building myself, keep rebranding myself and keep getting better.