Nonye Soludo, the wife of Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo, has publicly denied a claim by Peter Obi that he and his wife are godparents to the governor's children. The denial came through a statement issued on Saturday by her media aide, Dan Ezeigwe, a day after Obi made the claim at the Nigerian Guild of Editors' 22nd Conference in Enugu.
Obi's Claim at Editors' Conference
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), made the statement on Friday, September 25, while speaking as a guest at the conference. He told the audience: "My wife and I are godparents to Soludo's children. We are that close. We are not quarrelling. I will never quarrel with him. If I see him anyday, he and I will hug."
The remark came amid a running dispute between Obi and the Anambra State government over debt records. Mrs Soludo's response described the claim as "false," stating that the clarification became necessary after the family received multiple calls from people seeking the truth.
First Lady's Clarification on Godparent Ties
In the statement, Mrs Soludo said: "Mr Peter Obi is not a godfather to any of the children of Professor Chukwuma and Nonye Soludo. We urge members of the public, the media and all concerned to take note of this clarification and disregard any impression created by the statement that Mr. Peter Obi is godfather to any of Governor Soludo's children."
She did acknowledge limited godparent ties between the two families, but drew a clear distinction from what Obi described. She said she is a "confirmation godmother" to Obi's daughter, while Obi's wife, Margaret Obi, is "the baptismal godmother" to one of the Soludo daughters. She stressed that neither Obi nor Governor Soludo has served as godparent to the other's children.
Background of the Debt Dispute
Obi's godparent claim was made during an ongoing disagreement over state debts. In early September, the state's Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, alleged that the current administration was still repaying loans taken by Obi and previous governors. Obi denied owing any debt and said he left more than N75 billion in savings when he left office in 2014.
The Anambra government countered by releasing loan records showing that Obi's administration took eight external loans worth $123.7 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding. On Thursday, Obi again insisted he left over $150 million in savings for Anambra State when he exited office.
During his appearance at the editors' conference the following day, Obi made the godparent claim, describing his closeness to Soludo despite the ongoing disagreement. He did not specify how many of the governor's six children he and his wife serve as godparents to.
Legit.ng has been following the ongoing dispute between Peter Obi and the Anambra State government over the state's debt records and financial history. Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Peter Obi publicly addressed two controversies: an alleged falling-out with Governor Soludo and debt claims tied to his time as Anambra governor. The Anambra State Government said eight external borrowings linked to Obi's tenure had $92.35m outstanding as of June 30, 2026. Obi questioned how the $123.77m figure was calculated, citing Debt Management Office records that showed far lower figures when he left office in 2014.
