Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi’s claim that he and his wife are godparents to Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s children has triggered a sharp clarification from the governor’s family.
Obi had made the claim while speaking at the 22nd Conference of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Enugu, where he also dismissed suggestions that his political differences with Soludo had translated into a personal quarrel.
But the Soludo camp has now drawn a clear line between the two families’ relationship, saying Obi himself is not godfather to any of Soludo’s children.
According to a statement by Daniel Ezeigwe, media aide to Anambra First Lady, Dr Nonye Soludo, the actual godparent relationship is that Nonye Soludo is the confirmation godmother to Obi’s daughter, while Margaret Obi is the baptismal godmother to one of Soludo’s daughters.
“Mr Peter Obi is not a godfather to any of the children of Professor Chukwuma and Dr Nonye Soludo,” the statement said.
The clarification followed the widespread circulation of a video in which Obi said: “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.”
Obi also said that if he met Soludo anywhere, they would hug, insisting that whatever political differences existed between them should not be mistaken for a personal feud.
The response from the Soludo family, however, has now changed the complexion of that declaration of closeness.
Ezeigwe said Obi may simply have misspoken, but stressed that the viral nature of the video and enquiries from members of the public made an official clarification necessary.
The statement added that neither Obi nor Soludo had served as godparent to the other’s children.
Interestingly, the correction comes amid years of public exchanges between the two political figures, particularly since Soludo succeeded Obi as governor of Anambra.
Their differences have at various times centred on the record of Obi’s administration, Anambra’s finances and what Soludo inherited when he took over the state.
Yet Obi, while making his godparent claim, appeared determined to separate those political disagreements from the personal relationship between the two families.
The First Lady’s camp also stressed that there was no family feud, saying the relationship between the two families remained cordial.
But for now, one part of Obi’s claim has been firmly corrected by the Soludo family: Margaret Obi is the godmother — Peter Obi is not the godfather.
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