Nonye Soludo, wife of Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, has refuted claims by Peter Obi that he and his wife are godparents to Mr Soludo’s children.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), claimed on Friday that he and his wife are godparents to the Anambra governor’s children.
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“People might not know. 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. If they say anything, I’ll answer them,” he said when he spoke as a guest at the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ 22nd Conference in Enugu on Friday.
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Mr Obi’s comment came amid debt debate between him and Mr Soludo’s administration.
The former governor did not say how many of Mr Soludo’s children they serve as godparents to.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr Soludo has four daughters and two sons.
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A godparent is someone who serves as a witness at a child’s baptism.
Children’s godparents are usually chosen by their biological parents, often because of existing close relationships between the two families.
‘It’s false’
Reacting in a statement on Saturday by her media aide Dan Ezeigwe, Mrs Soludo described Mr Obi’s claim as “false.”
The Anambra first lady stressed that the clarification became necessary after the family received several calls from people who wanted to know the true position.
“Mr Peter Obi is not a godfather to any of the children of Professor Chukwuma and Nonye Soludo,” she said.
“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 added.
Mrs Soludo stressed that she is a “confirmation godmother” to Mr Obi’s daughter while Mr Obi’s wife, Margaret Obi, is “the baptismal godmother” to one of Mr Soludo’s daughters.
The first lady’s submission means that only Mr Obi’s wife is a godparent to one of Mr Soludo’s daughters.
“Neither Mr Obi nor Professor Soludo has served as a godparent to the other’s children,” she maintained.
Background
Messrs Obi and Mr Soludo have been engaged in a war of words in recent years.
The face-off between the two politicians took a fresh twist in early September when the Commissioner for Finance in the state, Izuchukwu Okafor, claimed that Governor Soludo’s administration was still repaying loans and other debts incurred by Mr Obi and other past governors of the state.
READ ALSO: How Peter Obi saved over $150 million in Anambra coffers – Alex Otti
Responding to the claim in a now-viral clip, Mr Obi said he was not owing any debt in Anambra when he left office as governor of the state.
The NDC candidate subsequently reiterated that he did not incur any debt as governor but rather saved over N75 billion in the state’s account.
In response, the Anambra government released loan records arguing that Mr Obi’s administration took eight external loans worth $123.7 million, with $92.35 million outstanding.
On Thursday, Mr Obi again reiterated that he left over $150 million in savings for Anambra State Government when he exited office as governor in 2014.
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