Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has confirmed that the wife of former governor Peter Obi is the godmother of one of his children, months after a public disagreement over the nature of the relationship between their families.
Soludo also disclosed that his wife, Nonye, is the confirmation godmother of Obi’s daughter, clarifying the family ties at the centre of the controversy that erupted in September.
The governor made the clarification in an interview with BBC News Igbo on Monday, where he described Obi as a close friend and said 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,” he said.
He added that their disagreements were political, explaining that both men had different preferences for who should govern Anambra State.
“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,” Soludo said.
The remarks revisit an exchange that began on September 25, when Obi told the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ 22nd conference in Enugu that he and his wife were godparents to Soludo’s children.
Obi had cited the relationship while dismissing suggestions that he was at loggerheads with the governor amid disagreements over the state’s finances and their political differences.
“My wife and I are godparents to Soludo’s children. Yes, we are that close. We are not quarrelling, and we will never quarrel,” the former governor had said.
However, the following day, a media aide to the Anambra First Lady, Daniel Ezeigwe, disputed the claim that Obi was 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 Obi nor Soludo had formally served as a godparent to the other’s children, adding that the clarification was necessary to correct what he described as a misleading impression created by Obi’s remarks.
The disagreement subsequently generated reactions, with Ezeigwe later telling Obi’s supporters to stop misrepresenting Catholic practices on godparenting.