Nonye Soludo, wife of Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra State, has clarified the relationship between her family and that of Peter Obi after the former governor said he and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children.
Gatekeepers News reports that Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), made the statement on Friday at the 22nd Conference of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Enugu.
Speaking about his relationship with Soludo amid the recent disagreement between Obi and the Anambra government, he said their political differences had not affected their personal relationship.
“People might not know, my wife and I are godparents to Soludo’s children. Yes, we are that close. So we are not quarrelling, and we will never quarrel. If I see him any day, me and him will hug and everything. If they say anything, I’ll answer them.”
However, Daniel Ezeigwe, media aide to the Anambra First Lady, issued a clarification on Saturday, saying Obi was not a godfather to any of Soludo’s children.
“We hereby state clearly that the claim, as presented, is false. For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Peter Obi is not a godfather to any of the children of Professor Chukwuma and Dr Nonye Soludo.”
The statement explained that there is, in fact, a godparent relationship between members of the two families, but the roles are different from what Obi’s statement suggested.
According to the clarification, Nonye Soludo is the confirmation godmother to one of Obi’s daughters, while Margaret Obi, Peter Obi’s wife, is the baptismal godmother to one of Soludo’s daughters.
“Neither Mr Obi nor Professor Soludo has served as a godparent to the other’s children.”
Ezeigwe suggested that Obi may simply have misspoken while discussing his relationship with Soludo.
“It is possible that Mr Peter Obi simply misspoke in the course of making his remarks. However, given the widespread circulation of the video and the enquiries it has generated, it is important that the record be set straight.”
The First Lady’s aide also stressed that the clarification was not intended to portray a breakdown in relations between the two families.
“The relationship between the two families is cordial and there is no need to misrepresent it in any manner.”
The development comes amid renewed public exchanges between Obi and the Soludo administration over the financial record of Obi’s tenure as governor of Anambra State.
Obi has maintained that he left substantial savings for the state when he handed over power in 2014 and denied claims that his administration left debts. The Soludo administration, however, has cited records of loans allegedly obtained by previous administrations, including Obi’s, in its response to his claims.
Despite the political and policy disagreements between the two men, Obi said at the editors’ conference that he did not regard Soludo as a personal adversary and insisted that they remained close.
The clarification from Soludo’s wife therefore focused specifically on the godparent relationship, distinguishing the actual family ties from the impression created by Obi’s remarks.
