Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has confirmed that Margaret Obi, wife of former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, is the baptismal godmother of one of his daughters.
Soludo also disclosed that his wife, Dr. Nonye Soludo, is the confirmation godmother of Peter Obi’s daughter, clarifying the relationship between the two families following controversy over their godparent ties.
The governor made the clarification during an interview with BBC News Igbo on Monday, where he described Peter Obi as a close friend and maintained that their families remained on good terms despite their political differences.
“Peter Obi and I are good friends. Our two families are on good terms. His wife was the godmother of my child at baptism, and my wife was the godmother of his child at confirmation,” Soludo said.
He explained that their disagreements were political, particularly over their preferences for who should govern Anambra State.
Soludo said he did not hold Obi’s political position against him, despite the former governor’s support for a different candidate during the state’s governorship contest.
“I have a different vision of who should be governor of Anambra State. I am contesting, and he supported whoever he felt should be governor. I prevailed by the grace of God, and I don’t hold it against him,” he added.
The clarification follows comments made by Peter Obi at the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ 22nd Annual Conference in Enugu on September 25, where he said he and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children.
Obi had used the relationship to dismiss suggestions that he was at loggerheads with the Anambra governor, insisting that their political differences had not affected their personal relationship.
However, the Anambra First Lady’s media aide, Daniel Ezeigwe, subsequently clarified that Obi himself was not a godfather to any of Soludo’s children.
Ezeigwe explained that Margaret Obi was the baptismal godmother to one of Soludo’s daughters, while Nonye Soludo was the confirmation godmother to Obi’s daughter.
He stressed that neither Peter Obi nor Chukwuma Soludo had served as a godparent to the other’s children.
Soludo’s latest remarks have now reinforced the earlier clarification, while underscoring the cordial relationship between the two families despite their political differences.