Nigeria, Nov. 4 -- Anambra governorship elections since 1999 have always gone down to the wire, with technocrats, politicians and moneybags slugging it out.

Saturday's epic showdown for the LightHouse in Awka follows in the same trajectory of intensity and complexity. The power chess game is intricately intertwined as the gladiators and their backers reach deep for their trump cards.

Among the 16 combatants, two candidates stand out as the frontrunners. Incumbent Governor Charles Soludo, a 65-year-old economist from Isuanioma in Aguata LGA, is flying the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) flag against the 58-year-old All Progressives Congress (APC) businessman, Nicholas Ukachukwu, from Osumenyi in Nnewi South LGA, in what promises t...