The drama drama between Peter Obi and Charles Soludo of Anambra State is becoming more interesting every day.
Just a few days ago, the governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, accused Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, of lying about his investment in Anambra State while he was governor of the state.
The governor stated this while appearing as a guest speaker on the Channels TV morning show on Thursday.
The former central bank governor said that the purported investment by his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi, is worth next to nothing.
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However, the statement had attracted some biting remarks to the governor both from the Peter Obi camp and supporters and from Anambra State where some unknown gunmen had attacked Soludo’s hometown. The unknown gunmen were said to be linked to the statement against Peter Obi although it’s not yet verified.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the governor felt he had had enough of the attacks and decided to reply Mr Peter Obi and his supporters also known as Obidients. In a 5-page expose titled, Destiny Calls and I will not be silent, he maintained that he stood by his words and accused the Labour Party candidate of ‘bullying everyone who expresses the slightest opposition.’
The long read also accused Peter Obi of refusing the proposal to contest for presidency under the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. It further went on to predict that Peter Obi will not win the presidential election in 2023 citing of Labour Party lack of structure and the means to execute a presidential campaign.
As expected, the statement had attracted even more biting remarks from followers and supporters of Peter Obi and Labour Party against the governor accusing him of jealousy and hatred against his predecessor.
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On Tuesday, peter Obi spoke at the 2022 Lagos Business School Alumni Conference in Lagos and took the opportunity to address the statement by Soludo. Obi acknowledged that Charles Soludo is a brother and a close friend, and asked him to do better than him since he is a professor. Obi said Soludo is in a position to succeed where he failed as a governor.
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He explained that despite the fluctuation in investment portfolios and the ravaging inflation around the world, the companies he invested in as governor was still in business and are doing well as of today. He added that those companies have provided direct and indirect employment opportunities to several residents in Anambra State.
He said, “The one (investment) they (Soludo) said is worthless, is that we invested N3.5 billion in International Breweries… That facility is there, employing directly and indirectly over 10,000 Anambarians. The shares were at a time being sold at N50. Today the shares are about N5 or so. Maybe, that was what was referred to (by Soludo). But that was less than five percent of what I left.
“When you spread your investment, some will go up, some will come down but overall, the company is still there, the company is still doing well. It is still part of the global chain.”
He also mentioned similar investments he made for the state in other companies including the investment in International Breweries and added that his administration saved $50 million each in Access, defunct Diamond and Fidelity banks with an interest rate of at least 6.5 per cent.
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“If you calculate (all of them) today, the money (invested) would have been about N60 billion,” Mr Obi said.
‘He is a professor, he should do better than me.
“For other things which I didn’t succeed, God has given him (Soludo) opportunity to do it and succeed.
“So, if there is anything pending, governance doesn’t finish. People are still in government in America. So, you stop where you will stop, other people will continue from there,” Mr Obi stated.
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“He (Soludo) is the governor of my state. He is (also) my senior brother, he is even more intelligent than me, (because) he is a professor. I am a trader. So, he knows more and will be able to do things better than I did it.
“I have done my little as a trader, now the professor is there. He will do his own as a professor. The schools I didn’t roof, he will roof them. That’s how government goes,” the LP candidate added.