Peter Obi prompted ridicule and criticism with an embarrassing gaffe in a recent interview. He announced his departure from the United Kingdom in 2025, a futuristic date clearly impossible given that the entire world is yet to make it through 2023.
The former Anambra governor made the error whilst struggling to explain his Easter detainment, a development said to be connected to a wider investigation into his financial dealings in Europe and specifically an audit controversy in the UK involving his firm, NEXT International.
Obi is reported to have ignored UK warnings about providing access to the firm’s accounts for annual audits mandated to curb money laundering and other sharp practices. He became a person of interest with the prominent mention he got in the PANDORA PAPERS leak. His activities across Europe, including the establishment of shell firms conducting questionable financial transactions, identified him as a likely offender to European authorities, sources have said.
His own explanation during the interview aired on Monday night was that he willingly surrendered his permit to live in the United Kingdom, a move that complicated his movement into and around the country. But by fumbling with the date and other key details in the story, Nigerians have questioned Obi’s sincerity, pointing out other instances in which he gave inconsistent accounts of an event.
For example, since the UK detainment, his team, acting with his approval, has attempted a spin with various accounts, many of which were contradictory.
They first floated a story that Obi was being impersonated in the country in a deliberate attempt to make his ordeal the handiwork of his political adversaries. But fearing that the UK authorities may be forced by the falsehood to clear the air and make public the former candidate’s dirty dealings, they recanted, offering a vague holding statement as a replacement.