Peter Gregory Onwubuasi Obi CON (Igbo: [òbí] ; born July 19, 1961) is a Nigerian politician, statesman, political activist and business executive. He served twice as the Governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2010, and a second term until 2014.
Born in Onitsha, Anambra State, Obi had his secondary education at Christ the King College, Onitsha and tertiary at the University of Nigeria in 1984. After his education, he entered banking and business. By 2000, he chaired Fidelity Bank before joining full-time politics. Obi contested for the Governorship of Anambra State in 2003 under All Progressives Grand Alliance but lost to Chris Ngige. In 2006 he was declared the governor and assumed office in March of same month, and shortly into his office, Obi was impeached in November by the judiciary, and after it was overturned, he returned to office in February 2007. Again, he was removed from office after the Anambra State Governorship election in 2007, but the judiciary intervened for his second term which he did until 2014.
Obi decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party, and in 2019, was selected as the vice presidential candidate for the year's general election along Atiku Abubakar. In 2022, Obi ran for president again along Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as the vice presidential candidate under the Labour Party. Though lost the election to Bola Tinubu, Obi's campaign has been described as populist especially with the legacy of firing a group of 'Obidients'. Obi has received several awards from his political roles, amongst them the 'Man of the Year' by The Sun in 2007.
Obi was born on 19 July 1961 in Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria, to a devout Christian family, [1] [2] from the Igbo tribe of Agulu in Anaocha, Anambra State. He had his secondary education at Christ the King College, Onitsha, where he obtained his West African Examination Council (WAEC). In 1980, he enrolled at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, Enugu State, where he studied Philosophy until his graduation in 1984. [3]
Obi studied at Lagos Business School, International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, Harvard Business School, Saïd Business School in England, Cambridge Judge Business School, and Kellogg School of Management. [3]
After education, Obi entered into banking and finance. By 2000, he became a full-time politician. He contested for the Governor of Anambra State under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2003, which he lost to counterpart, Chris Ngige. Ngige's defeat in the election was overturned in 2006, by the Court of Appeal in Nigeria. This led. Obi to assume the office of the governor on March 17, 2006. Seven months in office, Obi was impeached by the Anambra State House of Assembly and declared his deputy Virginia Etiaba as the governor. Obi, after a successful challenge of his impeachment was re-instated on February 9, 2007 in a sitting at Enugu State.
In the next three months, INEC declared Andy Uba the Governor of Anambra State over Obi's unfinished term. Obi returned with charges saying that his four-year tenure of 2003 was challenged and he started in March 2006. On 14 June 2007, the Supreme Court of Nigeria upheld Obi's petition and returned him to office, an office held until March 2010.
On 7 February 2010, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Obi as the winner of the Anambra State election in 2010 defeating counterpart, Charles Soludo. After being in office for four years as the rule of law, Obi was succeeded on 17 March 17, 2014, by Willie Obiano.
After the 2015 General Election, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Obi as the chairman of the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), and on 12 October 2018, Obi was named as the running mate to Atiku Abubakar under the Peoples Democratic Party's for the presidential election in 2019.
Obi was the third in the results. [4]
On 24 March 2022, Obi declared his intention to run for President of Nigeria under the party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Afterwards, he pulled out, announcing that he will be running under the Labour Party instead. [5] [6] According to the Nigerian newspaper Peoples Gazette, Peter Obi wrote to the leaders of PDP on 24 May to resign his membership. [7] He reportedly complained of massive bribing of delegates and vote buying during the party's presidential primary, citing the existence of a party clique collaborating against him. [8]
Obi's business background and status as a major candidate unaffiliated with either of Nigeria's two main parties has drawn comparisons with Emmanuel Macron's successful 2017 French presidential candidacy. [9] [10] [11] [12] Obi has expressed admiration for the French President, Emmanuel Macron and was among the officials who received him during his visit to Lagos. [13]
During the 2023 Presidential election campaign, people under 30 proved to be some of the biggest Obi's supporters, showing their support via social media, protests and street marches. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] Aisha Yesufu, a prominent activist noted as the cofounder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement and a supporter of the End SARS campaign, endorsed Obi in her first-ever endorsement of a presidential candidate. [19]
Young supporters of Obi's campaign were generally called the "Obidients", which was coined from his name "Obi". [17] In a Business Day opinion article, Chikwurah Isiguzo argued that: [20]
[The Obidients] are attracted by Peter Obi's ideology of frugality, economic production rather than the ostentatious consumerism and waste, and resourceful management and investment in key sectors, for economic growth and development.
Political commentators have generally argued that Obi's third party candidacy appeals to young voters dissatisfied with the two major parties, which has resulted in the "biggest political movement in recent Nigerian history." [21] With his core message of prudence and accountability, Obi has managed to gain the backing of voters for his previously largely unknown Labour Party into a strong third force against two political heavyweights, APC and PDP. [22] Before campaigns were officially kicked off, Obi's supporters held a series of One Million Man Marches in several Nigerian cities including Makurdi, Calabar, Lafia, Port Harcourt, Afikpo, Owerri, Enugu, Auchi, Abuja, Kano, Ilorin, Abakaliki and Ibadan. The marches were not part of the official campaigns; as they were led by volunteer Obi supporters and not Obi's in-house team or political party. The marches experienced massive turnouts. [23] [24] [25] [26]
Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education in Nigeria, stated that Nigerian women are more inclined toward the potential presidency of Obi[ clarification needed] in an interview with Channels TV. [27]
Physician Doyin Okupe initially was the temporary running mate of Obi until a substantive candidate could be selected. [28] In the run-up to the final selection of a running mate, media outlets reported that there was an effort to have former Senator Shehu Sani of Kaduna State serve as Obi's running mate. [29]
On 8 July 2022, Obi unveiled his running mate, Senator for Kaduna North Senatorial District Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed. Speaking on his choice of the vice presidential candidate, he stated:
This is our right to secure, unite and make Nigeria productive. And you can't do that without having people who have similar visions, ideas and are prepared for the task. So, I have the honour today to present to you, God willing, Nigeria's next vice president in the person of Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed. [30]
The results were announced on 1 March 2023. Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress party, was named the president-elect with 8.79 million votes. Obi received 6.1 million votes, and won in both Lagos and Abuja. [31] This put Obi in third place behind winner Bola Tinubu and People's Democratic Party nominee Atiku Abubakar. Due to the elections being rife with several allegations, reports and evidence of voter manipulation, disenfranchisement and rigging, [32] Obi announced that he would challenge the election results, stating that, "We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians". [33] [34]
Obi, as a political activist has publicly demanded that the Federal Government of Nigeria account the names of various individuals who are responsible for financing terrorism and oil theft in Nigeria. In 2020, he expressed support for the End SARS social movement against police brutality.
Regarded as a feminist, Obi has stated that "he believes women are less prone to corruption in public office than men, and his gubernatorial staff were predominantly women". Obi had also criticized the term being the First Lady of Nigeria, stating "It was not my wife that was voted in but me, the Ministry of Women Affairs is enough to take good care of women." During the International African Women's Day, Obi stated: "In Nigeria, we advocate continually greater women participation in leadership, nation-building and society, which begins with unfettered social inclusion, gender mainstreaming and empowerment."
On 1 April 2023, unconfirmed reports had that Nigerian newspaper Peoples Gazette published a phone conservation of Obi and Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church Worldwide. In the call done before the Nigerian presidential election in 2023, Obi declared that the election was "a religious war" and solicited the support of the bishop to reach out to Christians across the Southwest, Nigeria and in the North central. The report generated great controversy while his supporters, "the Obedients" claimed it was fake.
On the fifth of same month, Obi tweeted that the published phone call was fake and threatened to take legal action against the newspaper. On 1 May 2023, Obi appeared in an interview on Arise TV in Abuja, Nigeria, and when he was repeatedly asked of the audio, he responded that he is neither tribal or a religious bigot. Obi emphasised that it was normal for him and other politicians to solicit support from religious leaders during elections.
As a result of the Pandora Papers leaks, the Premium Times reported on Obi's involvement in offshore companies in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and Barbados. [35] Obi appeared to have made shell companies in the 1990s with the Barbados-based Beauchamp Investments Limited and UK-based Next International (UK) Limited being tied back to Obi and his family. [36] This was before he held any political office in Nigeria. Further reporting showed that in 2010 as well, Obi had Access International help him set up and manage Gabriella Investments Limited, a company in the British Virgin Islands named after Obi's daughter. One of the directors was also the director of a Belize-based shell company that was issued 50,000 shares in Gabriella Investments. In 2017, Obi reorganized the company under the name PMGG Investments Limited and created a trust named The Gabriella Settlement, which became the sole shareholder in PMGG Investments Limited. Obi was not holding any political position at this time.
A Premium Times report claimed that Obi remained as director of Next International (UK) Limited while serving as Governor of Anambra State, which is in direct violation of Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. In an interview with Arise News, Obi clarified that he resigned from all companies before taking office as Governor of Anambra State. [37]
The report also claimed that Obi's non-declaration of his offshore companies broke the Nigerian Constitution's provision that require public officers to declare all their properties, assets, and liabilities. [36] Obi stated that he did not break any laws and clarified that the accounts' money was accrued from his time as a businessman. The EFCC invited him for questioning in October 2021, after President Buhari directed all anti-corruption agencies to investigate those named in the leaks. [38] [39] [40]
In 1992, Obi married Margaret Brownson (née Usen) and they have two children. [41]
Obi was awarded the Man of the Year by The Sun in 2007. [3] Nigerian newspaper This Day recognised him as the Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria in 2009, [42] and the Best Performing Governor on Immunization in Southeast, Nigeria by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2012. [43] In 2013 Obi became the Silverbird Group's Man of the Year. In 2014, he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA), [44] the Nigerian Library Association Golden Merit Award. [45] and the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester. [46]
Obi, for This Day, was the Governor of the Decade in 2020, [47] and the Leadership Excellence Award's Man of the Year in 2022. [48]
As an ex-banker who wants to smash through the old two-party system and reinvigorate his country with a technocratic style of politics, Obi has prompted comparisons to French President Emmanuel Macron – who described himself as "neither left nor right", created his own political party and swept aside the traditional vehicles of social democracy and conservatism when he took the Élysée Palace and then won a crushing parliamentary majority in 2017.
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