One name seems to be very popular among the youths and a good number of the older generation in Nigeria and that name is Peter Obi. Who is Peter Obi? Why is the name Peter Obi resonating everywhere with Nigerians?
In this article, we would be discussing Peter Obi, his age, his political ambition as well as his running mate, companies and his net worth as at 2024.
Peter Gregory Obi CON is a Nigerian businessman and Politician who ran as the People’s Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in the 2019 Nigerian general election. He is also a presidential candidate in Nigeria’s general election in 2023.
Peter Obi
Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, is not just a rich politician but also a successful businessman. He worked in the corporate sphere before venturing into politics. This article contains further information regarding Peter Obi’s life.
Peter Obi’s Biography
Peter Gregory Obi is his full name, and he was conceived in Onitsha, Anambra state. Loved ones referred to him as “OKWUTE,” which translates as “ROCK.” Peter Obi, who was born on July 19, 1961, had his early schooling in Onitsha, Anambra state. He attended a secondary school in Onitsha known as Christ the King College. Peter Obi pursued his undergraduate education at the famed University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he earned a degree in Philosophy in 1984.
Peter Obi is intrigued by knowledge and Academics. This hunger drove him to study at top global universities outside of Nigeria. He attended Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as the London School of Economics, where he studied Financial Management/Business Policy; Columbia Business School in New York, New York, where he studied Marketing Management; the Institute for Management and Development in Switzerland, where he also received two certificates in the Senior Executive Program and the Chief Executive Officers Program.
Early Life and Education
We have already mentioned that he was born and raised in Onitsha. Peter Obi is the fourth child of a devout Catholic mother and father who owned and operated a prominent grocery in Onitsha. He finished his final year at Onitsha’s elite Christ the King College. He studied in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, one of Nigeria’s first generation universities, in 1980 and graduated with a B.A (Hons) in philosophy in 1984.
Peter Obi attended Lagos Business School in Nigeria, Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, where he completed two programs, the London School of Economics, Columbia Southwest School in New York, New York, USA, and the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, where he received two certificates in the Senior Executive Program and Chief Executive Officers Program. He also attended the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in the United States, Oxford University’s Said Business School, and Cambridge University’s George Business School.
Peter Obi’s Siblings
Bibiana Adani, Ndibe Obi, Fabian Obi and Martina Obi
His elder sister, Bibiana Adani, is late. She allegedly died in 2018 from an unidentified illness and was buried at her husband’s home at Adani Village, Ukana, Enugu state. According to some reports, Peter’s younger brother, Fabian Obi, is an ordained Reverend Father. He was named acting rector of the Seminary school in Onitsha called Blessed Iwene Tansi in October 2020.
Ndibe Obi, his other younger brother, is said to run one of Peter Obi’s businesses.
Martina Obi, the youngest sibling and sister is not widely known.
Spouse: Margaret Brownson Usen.
Wife of Peter Obi
In 1992, Peter Obi married Margaret Brownson Usen. Their marriage has produced two children, one boy and one girl. The couple’s marriage was said to be on the rocks in 2017. Margaret dispelled the notion, calling it “high wickedness.” Meanwhile, Obi has attempted to keep his personal life as discreet as possible.
His Wife, Peter Obi, Gabriella Nwamaka Frances Obi, Gregory Peter Oseloka Obi.
Children of Peter Obi
Gabriella Nwamaka Frances Obi (female; older) and Gregory Peter Oseloka Obi (male; younger) are Peter Obi’s children.
Career Pre-politics
Peter Obi was a businessman and trader before entering politics. Being born into a business family, he began his career as a trader before going into the corporate sector. He held executive positions in a variety of private companies. Among the companies he has worked with are Next International Nigeria Ltd, Guardian Express Mortgage Bank Ltd , Future View Securities Ltd, Guardian Express Bank Plc, Paymaster Nigeria Ltd, Data Corp Ltd, Chams Nigeria Ltd and Card Centre Ltd. He was the youngest chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc.
Career in Politics
In 2003, Peter Obi campaigned as a member for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for governor of Anambra State, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Chris Ngige of the People’s Democratic Party the winner.
After nearly three years of litigation, the Court of Appeal reversed Ngige’s win on March 15, 2006. Obi was sworn in as governor of the state on March 17, 2006. After barely seven months in office, he was impeached by the state house of assembly on November 2, 2006, and was succeeded the next day by Virginia Etiaba, his deputy, who became Nigeria’s first female governor. On February 9, 2007, the Court of Appeal in Enugu reinstated Obi as governor after he successfully contested his impeachment. Etiaba regained control after the court’s decision.
Obi resigned from the administration on May 29, 2007, following the victory of Andy Uba in the general elections. Obi returned to court, contending that the four-year term he won in 2003 actually began to run in March 2006, when he assumed office. On June 14, 2007, the Supreme Court of Nigeria upheld Obi’s claim, and he was reinstalled in office. The election of Obi’s successor, Andy Uba, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on April 14, 2007, on the premise that Obi’s four-year term should have continued until March 2010.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Peter Obi the victor of the 2010 Anambra State gubernatorial election, beating Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. As a consequence of this election victory, Governor Obi was re-elected for a second term as governor of Anambra State. Peter Obi finished his second term as governor on March 17, 2014, and turned over the reign to Willie Obiano. Following the 2015 general election, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Peter Obi as Chairman of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Peter Obi was named as Atiku Abubakar’s vice in the People’s Democratic Party’s presidential election campaign in Nigeria on October 12, 2018. His political party came in second place. On March 24, 2022, Peter Obi announced his intention to run for President of Nigeria on the People’s Democratic Party platform.
Peter Obi resigned from the People’s Democratic Party on May 24 in a letter to the party’s leadership. According to the story, Obi had a premonition that some members of the party planned to humiliate him during the Party’s primaries but being a very intelligent man, he left the party and joined Labour Party. Mr. Obi confirmed the newspaper account, alleging that he was being hunted by a gang.
Peter obi is currently the Presidential candidate for Labour Party and his Vice is Yusuf Datti Ahmed who is also an Economist. So, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, we would have two Economists running as Presidential candidate and his vice. Both individuals have received wide acceptance from majority of Nigerians yearning for a change from the two ruling parties APC and PDP.
About Peter Obi’s Running mate (Baba-Ahmed Dati)
Baba-Ahmed is a Nigerian economist who launched Baze University, a private academic school in Jabi, Abuja, in 2011.
He was born in 1969 in Zaria, Kaduna State, to the Baba-Ahmed family. His father is claimed to be an Arab cattle dealer from modern-day Mauritania. His father went on to become a well-known professor and specialist in Islamic jurisprudence.
Baba-Ahmed holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics from the University of Maiduguri in Borno State. In addition, he holds an MBA from the University of Wales, Cardiff.
He received his PhD from the University of Westminster in 2006 and worked in the business and banking industries for several years before entering politics.
In 2003, Baba-Ahmed ran for political office on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), the same year President Muhammadu Buhari ran for president on the same platform.
While Buhari did not win the presidency, Baba-Ahmed was elected to the Federal House of Representatives to represent the Zaria Federal Constituency in Kaduna State in April 2023.He was well-known for his moral activism. He was one of the MPs that rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third term ambition during his government.
In May 2006, he stated that he would not run for reelection unless action was made to investigate suspicions that members were bribed to support the constitutional modifications required for a third term as president.
He ran and was victorious in the Kaduna North Senatorial elections in 2011 as a member of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which was then led by Buhari, who ran for president again but lost.
The election was contested in court by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, which resulted in Baba-dubious Ahmed’s win being overturned. He contested and wasn’t successful for the PDP presidential ticket in 2018. In 2022, he dropped out of the PDP primary in Kaduna State, claiming his reluctance to pay delegates as the cause.
As a result, he was nominated as the Labour Party’s Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2023 national election on July 8, 2022.
Some of Peter Obi’s Achievements as a Governor
- Anambra was the first state in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement Sub-Sovereign Wealth Savings. At a period when many other governors were leaving massive debts, he left the equivalent of $500 million in investment as well as local and international cash, with $156 million in dollar-denominated bonds.
- In the implementation of their programs in Nigeria, he was recognized as the Best Governor by the Millennium Development Goals Office (OSSAP-MDGs) as well as the UNDP.
- Anambra is Nigeria’s least indebted state, according to the Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO). Despite obvious and verifiable gains in numerous sectors, the State under his leadership did not borrow or issue bonds for her various programs.
- Anambra State was named the most financially balanced state in Nigeria by the Federal Republic of Nigeria Senate.
Peter Obi Awards and Honors
Below are some of Peter Obi’s notable awards;
Sun Newspaper’s Man of the Year (2007)
Thisday Newspaper’s Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria (2009)
This Day’s Governor of the Decade (2020)
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)
Catholic Diocese of Onitsha’s Golden Jubilee Award (2015)
Some of Peter Obi’s pre-political positions include:
Former Chairman: Fidelity Bank Plc.
Former Chairman: Guardian Express Mortgage Bank, Ltd.
Former Chairman: Future Views Securities, Ltd.
Former Chairman: Paymaster Nigeria Plc.
Former Chairman: Next International (Nigeria) Ltd
Former Director: Guardian Express Bank Plc.
Former Director: Chams Nigeria Plc.
Former Director: Emerging Capital Ltd
Former Director: Card Centre Plc.
Obi’s Membership of Organizations/Professional Associations:
Member, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)
Member, Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers
Member, British Institute of Directors (IOD)
Peter Obi’s Net Worth 2024 – US$10 million
Peter Obi is a rich politician as well as a successful businessman as we have previously mentioned. As the former governor of Anambra State and the People’s Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections, Peter Obi revealed that he was a trader who moved into banking before becoming governor. Peter Obi controls the majority of the stock but is not the owner of Fidelity Bank or Hero Lager Beer.
He also worked as an engineer for South African Breweries. Peter Obi is a naira billionaire with a net worth of around US$10 million before he become governor of Anambra state.
In Conclusion, this article provides all that there is to know about Peter Obi, his Vice and his speculated net worth.
