Nonye Soludo, wife of Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra State, has clarified that Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), is not the godfather of any of her children.
Daniel Ezeigwe, media aide to Nonye Soludo, issued the clarification on Saturday following remarks by Obi that he and his wife were godparents to the governor’s children.
Obi made the comment on Friday while speaking at the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ 22nd Conference in Enugu.
“People may 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.”
The remarks were widely circulated, prompting questions about the nature of the relationship between the two families.
In a statement, Ezeigwe said Obi’s claim was incorrect and provided details of the godparent relationships between the families.
“We hereby state clearly that the claim, as presented, is false.”
He explained that Nonye Soludo is the confirmation godmother to Obi’s daughter, while Margaret Obi, 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 said.
He added that Obi may have “simply misspoke”, but said the widespread circulation of the video made it necessary to clarify the matter.
According to Ezeigwe, the relationship between the two families remains cordial despite recent public disagreements involving the two politicians.
“The relationship between the two families is cordial, and there is no need to misrepresent it in any manner,” he said.
The clarification comes amid recent public exchanges over financial issues relating to Obi’s tenure as Anambra governor, which have fuelled speculation about his relationship with Soludo.
Law Mefor, Anambra commissioner for information and value reorientation, said on Thursday that there was no personal rift between the two politicians.
