Anambra State First Lady, Dr Nonye Soludo, has rejected former governor Peter Obi’s claim that he and his wife, Margaret, are godparents to Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s children.
The clarification came on Saturday after a video of Obi’s remarks at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu circulated widely online.
Speaking at the conference on Friday, Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, said his relationship with Soludo remained cordial despite their political differences and the recent dispute over Anambra State’s finances.
“People might not know, my wife and I are godparents to Soludo’s children. Yes, we are that close,” Obi said, adding that he and Soludo would embrace whenever they met.
However, a statement issued by Daniel Ezeigwe, media aide to the Anambra First Lady, said the claim was incorrect and provided what the family described as the actual godparent relationships between the two families.
According to the statement, Obi is not a godfather to any of Soludo’s children.
It said Nonye Soludo is the confirmation godmother to one of Obi’s daughters, while Margaret Obi is the baptismal godmother to one of Soludo’s daughters.
“Neither Mr Obi nor Professor Soludo has served as a godparent to the other’s children,” the statement said.
The First Lady’s aide added that Obi may have misspoken while making his remarks, but said the clarification became necessary because the video had generated enquiries and widespread discussion.
The statement also stressed that the relationship between the two families remained cordial.
The development comes against the backdrop of renewed political exchanges between Obi and Soludo over the former governor’s stewardship of Anambra and the financial position he left behind when he left office in 2014.
Obi has disputed claims concerning debts allegedly inherited by successive administrations, insisting that he did not leave the state indebted and saying his administration left substantial dollar-denominated savings.
The godparent controversy therefore emerged from a wider discussion about the relationship between two former political allies whose public positions have diverged over time.
The 2026 editors’ conference, held in Enugu on September 24 and 25, brought together editors and other stakeholders under the theme, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive.”
Its sub-theme focused on detecting and debunking AI-driven disinformation before, during and after elections.
Obi’s comments were made in that setting as he sought to distinguish his personal relationship with Soludo from political disagreements surrounding their administrations and the approaching 2027 elections.
The clarification from the Anambra First Lady’s office now puts the specific family relationship on record: according to the statement, the connection involves the two women serving as godmothers within the respective families, rather than Obi and Soludo personally occupying those roles.
