Prof Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State, has stated that he holds no personal grudge against former governor Peter Obi, describing their relationship as cordial even though they disagree on political and economic matters.
Soludo made this known on Monday during an interview with BBC News Igbo, clarifying that the two families have remained close but hold differing political interests.
“Peter Obi and I are good friends. Both of our 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 insisted that their political differences have not harmed their personal relationship, adding that the two men backed different candidates in 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.
These remarks from the governor come at a time when he and Obi are again at odds over the former governor’s tenure and the financial state of Anambra State when he left office in 2014.
In September, Obi and the Anambra State Government clashed over assertions that the former governor and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children.
Obi had stated that he and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children, and he described the bond between the two families as cordial in spite of their political differences.
But the media aide to the Anambra First Lady, Daniel Ezeigwe, contested this 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 spoke about his controversial 2022 article, in which he questioned Obi’s chances of winning the 2023 presidential election, making clear that he did not predict the former Anambra governor would lose.
When asked whether he still held his position ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Soludo said his earlier point was that Obi’s participation in the 2023 election would divide opposition votes and make victory easier for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu.
“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 also stated 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.
Soludo 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.
The governor 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 mobilizing 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 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, in which he expressed doubts about Obi’s presidential ambition and stated 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.
