The wife of Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, Mrs Nonye has dismissed claims that the immediate past governor of the state and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, is godfather to any of her children, describing the impression created by a widely circulated video as inaccurate.

In a statement issued by her media assistant, Dan Ezeigwe, the First Lady said the clarification became necessary after a video went viral in which Obi was heard saying that he and his wife, Margaret, were godparents to Soludo’s children. She said it was possible Obi simply misspoke while making the remarks, but that the volume of enquiries the video generated made it necessary to set the record straight.

According to the statement, the actual nature of the relationship between the two families is more specific than the blanket claim suggested.

Mrs Soludo said she personally serves as confirmation godmother to one of Obi’s daughters, while Margaret Obi is baptismal godmother to one of the Soludo children, describing this as the true basis of the families’ ties rather than Obi standing as godfather to all six of the Soludo children.

She, however, maintained that relations between the two families remain cordial despite the political and financial disagreements that have recently played out between her husband and Obi.

The clarification followed comments Obi made at the 22nd conference of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Enugu, where he sought to play down reports of a rift between him and Soludo over the finances of Anambra State.

Obi insisted there was no personal quarrel between him and his successor, describing Soludo as his “respected elder brother” and citing the godparent relationship as evidence of how close the two families remained despite an ongoing disagreement over whether his administration left behind debts for the state.

That disagreement stems from claims by the Soludo camp that Obi’s government left financial obligations unresolved when he left office in 2014, an allegation Obi has repeatedly denied. He has pointed to public remarks by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, which he said supported his position that Anambra’s finances were in good standing when he handed over.

Despite the back-and-forth, both camps have continued to insist the disagreement has not degenerated into personal hostility, with Obi maintaining he would only respond further if fresh comments were made about him by the Soludo administration.