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Peter Obi

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Peter Obi
CON
File:Peter Obi in Washington (cropped).jpg
Governor of Anambra State
In office
14 June 2007 – 17 March 2014
Preceded byAndy Uba
Succeeded byWillie Obiano
In office
9 February 2007 – 29 May 2007
Preceded byVirginia Etiaba
Succeeded byAndy Uba
In office
17 March 2006 – 2 November 2006
Preceded byChris Ngige
Succeeded byVirginia Etiaba
Personal details
Born
Peter Gregory Obi

(1961-07-19) 19 July 1961 (age 62)
Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria
Political partyLabour Party
SpouseMargaret Browson Usen
Children2
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Businessman
  • Banker
WebsiteOfficial website

Peter Gregory Obi CON[1] (born 19 July 1961) is a Nigerian politician and businessman, who was the vice presidential candidate in the 2019 Nigerian general election under the People's Democratic Party (P.D.P). He is also a presidential aspirant of the 2023 Nigerian general election.[2] He was the former governor of Anambra State serving from 17 March 2006 to 2 November 2006, when he was impeached and from 9 February 2007 to 29 May 2007 after his impeachment was overturned.[3] Although a fresh election was held on 29 April 2007, he was reappointed governor on 14 June 2007 after a court ruling that he should be allowed to complete a four-year term.[4][5] He was re-elected to a second-term in office during the 6 February 2010 gubernatorial elections.[6]

Early life and education

Peter Obi was born on 19 July 1961 at Onitsha.[7] He attended Christ the King College, Onitsha, where he completed his secondary school education.[8] He was admitted to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1980, graduating with a B.A (Hons) in philosophy in 1984.[9]

Peter Obi attended Lagos business school, Nigeria,[10] where he did his Chief executive program, Harvard business school, Boston, USA, where he did two programs, London School of Economics, Columbia southwest school, New York, USA,[11] Institute for management development, Switzerland[12] where he also got two certificates in Senior Executive Program and Chief Executive Officers program. He also attended Kellogg graduate school of Management, USA,[13] Oxford University:Said business school[14] and Cambridge University: George business school.[15]

Pre-political career

Peter Obi was a business man and trader before he ventured into politics.[16][17] According to Peter Obi, he started his life as a trader, being born into trading family before venturing into the corporate world. He held leadership positions in some private establishments. Some of the companies he served includes: Next International Nigeria Ltd, Chairman and director of Guardian Express Mortgage Bank Ltd, Guardian Express Bank Plc, Future View Securities Ltd, Paymaster Nigeria Ltd, Chams Nigeria Ltd, Data Corp Ltd and Card Centre Ltd. He was the youngest chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc.[7][18][19]

Political career

Governorship

First term

Peter Obi contested in the Anambra State governorship election as candidate for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) party in 2003, but his opponent, Chris Ngige of the People's Democratic Party, was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).[20]

After nearly three years of litigation, Ngige's victory was overturned by the Court of Appeal on 15 March 2006. Obi took office for on 17 March 2006. On 2 November 2006, he was impeached by the state house of assembly after seven months in office and was replaced the next day by Virginia Etiaba, his deputy, making her the first-ever female governor in Nigeria's history. Obi successfully challenged his impeachment and was re-instated as the governor on 9 February 2007 by the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu. Etiaba handed power back to him after the court ruling.[21]

Obi once again left office on 29 May 2007 following the general elections, which Andy Uba won. Obi returned to the courts once more, this time contending that the four-year tenure he had won in the 2003 elections only started to run when he took office in March 2006. On 14 June 2007 the Supreme Court of Nigeria upheld Obi's contention and returned Obi to office. This brought to an abrupt end the tenure of Obi's successor, Andy Uba whose 14 April 2007 election the Supreme Court nullified on the grounds that Obi's four-year tenure should have remained undisturbed until March 2010.[22]

Second term

On 7 February 2010, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Peter Obi the winner of the 2010 Anambra State gubernatorial election, where he defeated Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, former governor, CBN. This election victory gave Governor Obi an additional four years as the governor of Anambra State.[6] On 17 March 2014 Peter Obi served out his second term and handed over the governorship to Willie Obiano.[23]

After the 2015 general election, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Peter Obi as the chairman of the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). [24]

2019 presidential elections

On 12 October 2018, Peter Obi was named as the running mate to Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party's Presidential Candidate in the Nigerian 2019 Presidential elections. His party came second.[25]

2023 presidential elections

On 24 March 2022, Peter Obi declared his intention to run for the position of President of Nigeria on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.[26]

Leaving the PDP

In an exclusive report by Peoples Gazette, Peter Obi wrote to the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party on May 24 to resign his membership of the party. According to the report, Obi feared that he may be humiliated at party's presidential primary. Mr. Obi confirmed the development to the newspaper citing the existence of a gang up against him.[27]

Awards and Honors

These are some of the notable awards of Peter Obi[28][29]

  • Sun Newspaper's Man of the Year (2007)
  • Thisday Newspaper's Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria (2009)
  • Champion Newspaper's Nigeria's Most Trustworthy Governor (2009)
  • West Africa ICT Development Award for Governor of the Year (2010)
  • Zik Leadership Prize (2011)
  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Best Performing Governor on Immunization in South-East Nigeria (2012)
  • Ezeife Leadership Foundation's Leadership and Good Governance Award (2012)
  • Methodist Church of Nigeria's Golden Award on Prudence (2012); Business Hallmark Newspaper's Man of the Year (2012)
  • Silverbird's Man of the Year (2013)
  • The Voice Newspaper's Award for Outstanding Example in Leadership and Governance (2014)
  • Champion Newspaper's Most Outstanding Igbo Man of the Decade (2014)
  • Nigerian Library Association's Golden Merit Award (2014)
  • Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr (2014)[30]
  • Catholic Diocese of Onitsha's Golden Jubilee Award (2015)

Pandora Papers revelations

See also: Pandora Papers

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.[31] In 2010, Obi had Acces International help him set up and manage Gabriella Investments Limited, a company in the British Virgin Islands named after Obi's daughter with figureheads as directors to avoid Obi's direct involvement; 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. Further reporting showed that Obi appeared to have made shell companies in the 1990s as well, with the Barbados-based Beauchamp Investments Limited and UK-based Next International (UK) Limited being tied back to Obi and his family.[32]

After reviewing Obi's history of holding offshore companies, some journalists found that Obi broke several laws due to his business dealings. Firstly, Obi remained as director of Next International (UK) Limited while serving as Governor of Anambra State in direct violation of Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. Secondly, 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. Lastly, both the Constitution and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act outlaw a public officer from holding a bank account outside Nigeria and the leaks (along with Obi's response to them) made it clear that Obi maintained his foreign accounts while serving as Governor.[32]

After the revelations, civil society groups pushed for investigations into Obi as reporters queried the EFCC on if the commission would start investigating Obi.[33] A few days after the report, Obi responded by claiming that he did not break any laws and clarified that the accounts' money was accrued from his time as a businessman while the EFCC invited him for questioning later in October 2021 after Buhari directed all anti-corruption agencies to investigate those named in the leaks.[34][35][36]

Personal life

Obi married Margaret Brownson Usen in 1992, and together they have two children. He is a Catholic.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ Otuonu, Jude (11 November 2011). "Nigeria: Obi and the National Award". Daily Champion. Retrieved 28 April 2022 – via AllAfrica.
  2. ^ Sunday, Nwafor (24 March 2022). "Peter Obi declares for 2023 presidential race". Vanguard. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Atiku picks Peter Obi as running mate". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Governor Peter Onwubuasi Obi". Who's Who Profile. Africa Confidential. Retrieved 18 February 2012. Challenged Chris Ngige's election as Governor of Anambra State, 2003; legal battles with Ngige, 2003-06; Governor, Anambra State, March 2006-November 06; impeached, November 2006; re-instated as Governor to finish original four-year tenure, June 2007.
  5. ^ Temple Chima Ubochi (17 June 2007). "Governor Peter Obi Of Anambra State: Consistency; [Perseverance] And Patience Are Worthy Virtues". NigeriaWorld. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Obi Re-elected Anambra State Governor...(UPDATED)". ThisDay. 2 July 2010. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Peter Obi: Profile of PDP vice presidential candidate - Daily Post Nigeria". 12 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Peter Obi: Early years, education, career and family". 3 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Peter Obi: A complete profile". Vanguard News. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Home | Lagos Business School". Lagos Business School. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  11. ^ School, Columbia Business (9 July 2015). "Columbia Business School MBA Program". Programs. Retrieved 25 May 2020. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "IMD business school for management and leadership courses". IMD business school. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Kellogg School of Management | Northwestern University". www.kellogg.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Leadership | Saïd Business School". www.sbs.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Peter Obi: A complete profile". Vanguard News. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Peter Obi's Biography: daughter, wife, net worth". Kemi Filani. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  17. ^ Afolabi Blessing (April 2022). "Peter Obi Net Worth, Biography, Cars And Houses". Carmart.ng. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  18. ^ Achum, Valentine http://sunnewsonline.com/managing-recession-the-duke-obi-examples/ Daily Sun, OCT 11, 2016 VOL. 13 NO. 3512
  19. ^ Chuks, Chris (9 July 2009). "Meet the Governor". PeterObi.org. Exmark Technologies. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  20. ^ "Peter Obi V. Independent National Electoral Commission & Ors (S.C. 123/2007 ) [2007] NGSC 180 (13 July 2007); | Nigeria Legal Information Institute". nigerialii.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  21. ^ Etaghene Edirin (14 February 2010). "Peter Obi - The Making of an Enigma". Daily Champion.
  22. ^ Eboh, Camillus (14 June 2007). "Close Obasanjo ally loses governor's seat in Nigeria". Africa.Reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  23. ^ "Obiano sworn-in as Anambra Governor - Premium Times Nigeria". 17 March 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  24. ^ Olajide, Bukky (2015). "Jonathan appoints Peter Obi chairman of SEC". The Guardian.
  25. ^ "Breaking: Atiku picks Peter Obi as running mate - Vanguard News". Archived from the original on 13 October 2018.
  26. ^ "2023 - Peter Obi declares for president, vows to create jobs, secure Nigeria". 24 March 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  27. ^ Akintade, Adefemola (25 May 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Peter Obi dumps PDP, pulls out of presidential primaries". Peoples Gazette.
  28. ^ Admin (13 October 2018). "Peter Obi: A complete profile". Vanguard. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  29. ^ a b Faleae, Vivian (3 September 2018). "Peter Obi's biography and career". Legit.ng. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  30. ^ "My Papal knighthood exceptional —Obi". Vanguard News. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  31. ^ "Pandora Papers: I don't own more than $15m in offshore account –Peter Obi". The Sun Nigeria. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  32. ^ a b Adebayo, Taiwo-Hassan (4 October 2021). "Pandora Papers: Inside Peter Obi's secret businesses — and how he broke the law". Premium Times. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  33. ^ Alechenu, John; Olokor, Friday; Adepegba, Adelani (5 October 2021). "CSOs berate FG, VIPs as Pandora papers implicate Peter Obi, nine others". The Punch. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  34. ^ Abdulsalam, Hassan (7 October 2021). "PANDORA PAPERS: Peter Obi reacts, tries to mislead Nigerians". Premium Times. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  35. ^ {{Cite web |date=2021-10-11 |url=https://punchng.com/pandora-papers-how-i-made-money-peter-obi/ |Title=How I made money—Peter Obi |website=Punch newspapers
  36. ^ Adebayo, Taiwo-Hassan (17 October 2021). "Pandora Papers: EFCC summons Peter Obi". Premium Times. Retrieved 18 October 2021.

[1]

  1. ^ Dera, Promise (25 May 2022). "Peter Obi resigns from PDP". Tickernewsng.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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