Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has maintained that he shares a cordial relationship with former governor Peter Obi, despite their political disagreements, saying their differences have never affected the friendship between their families.

Soludo made this known during an interview with BBC News Igbo on Monday while responding to questions about the recent exchanges between his administration and Obi over the management of the state's finances.

The governor stressed that their disagreements were strictly political, insisting that both families remained close.

“Peter Obi and I are good friends. Our two families are on good terms,” he said.

“His wife gave birth to my child in the divine water, my wife gave birth to his child in the confirmation. But when it comes to politics, give me mine, give him his. It’s politics that is being done.”

Soludo also said Obi's decision to support another candidate during the last Anambra governorship election did not affect their relationship, noting that he eventually won the election.

“He has someone he thinks should be the governor of Anambra. I am also listening. He supported the person he wanted. But I won by the grace of God,” he stated.

Obi governed Anambra State between March 2006 and March 2014 under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), serving two interrupted terms.

He later contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, finishing third behind Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking further, Soludo disclosed that he personally invited Obi to join APGA in March 2022 to pursue his presidential ambition.

“It was me myself who invited him to APGA so he could run, early March 2022 at Nnamdi Azikiwe University,” he said.

He explained that the initial plan was to mobilise the Igbo people and build a political alliance before seeking national power, stressing that political success required consultation and strategic cooperation.

However, Soludo said he later withdrew his support for Obi's presidential ambition because he believed his candidacy could divide opposition votes and improve Tinubu's chances of winning the election.

In November 2022, the governor published an article titled 'History Beckons and I Will Not Be Silent', in which he questioned Obi's chances of winning the presidential election.

Soludo said he had warned Obi that his participation in the race could weaken the PDP by taking away votes that might otherwise have gone to its candidate.

“In fact, I also wrote to him that his participation would take away a lot of votes from the PDP and make it easier for Tinubu to win,” he added.

Reflecting on the current political situation, the governor noted that the dynamics had changed, arguing that even a united opposition might not necessarily defeat an incumbent administration.

“Even if you have a united opposition, it still does not guarantee you get to defeat an incumbent. But that is even the starting point,” he said.

The latest comments come amid a dispute between the Anambra State Government and Obi over allegations concerning debts allegedly inherited from the former governor's administration.

The disagreement intensified on September 14 when the state's Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed that the government was still repaying loans obtained by previous administrations, including those of Obi and his successor, Willie Obiano.

Obi rejected the claim, insisting that he left no outstanding debts when he handed over power. He maintained that his administration did not owe salaries, pensions or contractors and left N2.1 billion in the state's ecological fund.

However, the state government subsequently challenged his position, claiming that Obi left behind $123.77 million in debt.

Amid the controversy, Obi insisted that there was no personal disagreement between him and Soludo, noting that he and his wife were godparents to the governor's children.

Soludo's wife, Nonye Soludo, however, later disputed aspects of Obi's account in a statement issued through her media aide, Daniel Ezeigwe, suggesting that the former governor might have misspoken.