Obi and I remain friends despite political differences — Soludo - Punch Newspapers
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has said he has no personal rift with former governor Peter Obi, describing their relationship as cordial despite disagreements over political and economic issues. Soludo said this in an interview with BBC News Igbo, on Monday, explaining that both families maintained close relationships but had different political interests. “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 said. He maintained that their political differences did not affect their personal relationship, adding that both men had 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 comments come amid renewed disagreements between him and Obi over the former governor’s record in office and the financial position of Anambra State when he left office in 2014. In September, Obi and the Anambra State Government disagreed over claims that the former governor and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children. Obi had said he and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children, describing the relationship between the two families as cordial despite their political differences.Make PUNCH part of your everyday experience.Add us to your Preferred Sources However, the media aide to the Anambra First Lady, Daniel Ezeigwe, disputed the claim, explaining 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 addressed his controversial 2022 article in which he questioned Obi’s chances of winning the 2023 presidential election, clarifying that he did not predict that the former Anambra governor would lose. Asked whether he maintained his position ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Soludo said his earlier argument was that Obi’s participation in the 2023 election would split opposition votes and make victory easier for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu. Sokoto pledges stronger security partnerships 2027: Ex-Rep drums support for Tinubu N10bn intervention not for Ebola alone, says NCDC boss “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 argument at the time was that Obi’s emergence as a third-force candidate would take votes away from the Peoples Democratic Party and benefit 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 an alliance among opposition parties would not automatically guarantee victory against an incumbent administration. “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 said. Soludo also recalled that he personally invited Obi to join the All Progressives Grand Alliance in March 2022 to contest the presidency, saying their discussions initially focused on mobilising the Igbo people rather than merely securing 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 mobilise 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, in which he questioned Obi’s presidential ambition and wrote that the former governor could not win the election. “Peter Obi knows that he can’t and won’t win,” he wrote at the time. Fawzi Kehinde Fawzi is a journalist and subeditor covering a wide range of beats including politics, metro, and international news, among others. He also optimises stories for digital audiences.
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