Obi Peter Gregory

Peter Gregory Obi is a businessman and former governor of Anambra State. His campaign biography records that he was born in Onitsha on 19 July 1961. He attended Christ the King College, Onitsha, and studied philosophy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In an October 2023 press conference, Obi said he attended the university from 1980 to 1984 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy.

His business background includes former chairmanships of Fidelity Bank and Next International Nigeria, and a directorship of Chams Nigeria. These positions appear in the signed campaign statement announcing his 2019 vice-presidential nomination. His 2023 campaign biography also lists executive education, including the Chief Executive Programme at Lagos Business School.

Obi contested the 2003 Anambra governorship election under the All Progressives Grand Alliance. The state government’s historical account records that the courts subsequently found he had won that election, leading to his taking office in March 2006. He was impeached in November 2006, when his deputy Virginia Etiaba became governor, and regained office through the courts in February 2007. His governorship, which included further interruptions, ended in March 2014; Willie Obiano succeeded him.

In October 2018, Atiku Abubakar selected Obi as his running mate for the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2019 presidential campaign. Obi later stood as the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election.