Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has dismissed suggestions of a personal disagreement between him and his predecessor, Peter Obi, insisting that their relationship remains cordial despite their opposing political views.
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Soludo said his differences with the former governor were strictly political and had not affected the relationship between their families, who, according to him, maintained close ties.
The governor made the clarification during an interview with BBC News Igbo on Monday, amid renewed public exchanges between the two political figures over Anambra’s political affairs and Obi’s record in office.
“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,” Soludo said.
He explained that both men had different preferences during the last Anambra governorship election, noting that Obi supported his preferred candidate while he pursued his own political interest.
“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,” he added.
Soludo’s comments come against the background of a long-running political disagreement between the two former and current governors, particularly over Obi’s administration of Anambra State and the financial position of the state when he left office in 2014.
Their differences also resurfaced in September following a disagreement over the nature of the relationship between their families.
Obi had described himself and his wife as godparents to Soludo’s children, but the Anambra State Government, through the media aide to the First Lady, Daniel Ezeigwe, disputed the description. Ezeigwe 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.
The governor also revisited his controversial 2022 article, History Beckons and I Will Not Be Silent, in which he questioned Obi’s chances of winning the 2023 presidential election.
Soludo clarified that his argument was not simply that Obi would lose, but that his emergence as a third-force candidate would divide opposition votes, particularly those of the Peoples Democratic Party, 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 maintained that an alliance among opposition parties would not automatically guarantee victory against an incumbent government, stressing that political cooperation required proper planning and mobilisation.
Soludo further disclosed that he personally invited Obi to join the All Progressives Grand Alliance in March 2022 to contest the presidency. According to him, their initial discussions focused on mobilising the Igbo people before the pursuit of political power.
“It was me myself who invited him to APGA so he could run, early March 2022 at Nnamdi Azikiwe University,” the governor said.
He added that the discussions were initially about building political unity and mobilisation rather than simply securing an electoral victory.
The latest comments appear to be an attempt by Soludo to separate his personal relationship with Obi from their political disagreements, which have continued to attract public attention since the former governor’s presidential ambition became a major issue in Nigerian politics.