Soludo Says He and Obi Are Still Friends Despite Political Differences

Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has said he has no personal issues with former governor Peter Obi. He described their relationship as friendly, even with their different views on political and economic matters.

Soludo shared this in an interview with BBC News Igbo on Monday. He explained that both families have close ties but hold different political beliefs.

“Peter Obi and I are good friends. Our two families are on good terms. His wife gave birth to my child in the divine water, my wife gave birth to his child in the confirmation. But when it comes to politics, give me mine, give him his. It’s politics that is being done,” the governor stated.

He stressed that their political disagreements do not affect their personal friendship. He noted that both of them supported different candidates during the Anambra governorship election.

“He has someone he thinks should be the governor of Anambra. I am also listening. He supported the person he wanted. But I won by the grace of God,” Soludo said.

The governor's remarks come as he and Obi have recently disagreed over Obi’s time in office and Anambra State's finances when he left in 2014.

In September, Obi and the Anambra State Government had a fallout over claims that he and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children.

Obi claimed that he and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children, saying the relationship between the two families was friendly despite their political differences. However, Daniel Ezeigwe, the media aide to the Anambra First Lady, disagreed. He explained that Nonye Soludo was the confirmation godmother to Obi’s daughter, while Obi’s wife, Margaret, was the baptismal godmother to one of Soludo’s daughters.

Soludo also talked about his 2022 article in which he questioned Obi’s chances in the 2023 presidential election. He clarified that he did not say the former Anambra governor would lose.

When asked if he still held that view ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Soludo explained that he believed Obi’s participation in the 2023 election would divide opposition votes and make it easier for Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress to win.

“No, no, I didn’t say he wouldn’t win. What I said was that it is impossible for someone who is a presidential candidate of a party to not even write a letter saying he is running,” he said.

He added that his earlier point was that Obi’s candidacy as a third-force candidate would take votes away from the Peoples Democratic Party and help Tinubu.

“In fact, I also wrote to him that his participation would take away a lot of votes from the PDP and make it easier for Tinubu to win,” Soludo said.

The governor further argued that even if opposition parties unite, it does not guarantee victory against an incumbent government.

“Even if you have a united opposition, it still does not guarantee you get to defeat an incumbent. But that is even the starting point,” he stated.

Soludo also recalled that he personally invited Obi to join the All Progressives Grand Alliance in March 2022 to run for president. He said their talks were initially about mobilizing the Igbo people, not just about gaining political power.

“It was me myself who invited him to APGA so he could run, early March 2022 at Nnamdi Azikiwe University,” he said.

He added, “Before he ran for that office, it wasn’t about him running and winning, but how we are going to mobilize the Igbo people.

“We deliberate first before going into an alliance before seeking power. You don’t just get power in Nigeria like that.”

In November 2022, Soludo published an article titled History Beckons and I Will Not Be Silent, where he questioned Obi’s presidential ambition, stating that the former governor could not win the election.

“Peter Obi knows that he can’t and won’t win,” he wrote at that time.