Former Anambra State governor and presidential candidate Peter Obi has disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) questioned him over a London property he acquired in 1996, about 10 years before he became governor.
Obi made the disclosure in a video that has resurfaced amid renewed political discussions about his wealth and business history.
“Efcc called & incredibly asked me to explain a house I acquired in 1996, 10 years before I became Governor so I gave them the receipt of full payment of £1m pounds,” Obi said.
According to Obi, he purchased the property through proceeds from his private business activities as a trader dealing in imported goods. He said the transaction occurred before he entered public office and that he was able to provide documentation showing that the property had been fully paid for.
Obi also maintained that he had no reason to depend on government resources for personal gain, stressing that his interest in politics was driven by a desire to improve the country’s economic conditions.
“I have no need for anything from the system,” he said, adding that his concern was to create an environment where hardworking Nigerians could prosper.
The disclosure has renewed attention on properties Obi acquired in the United Kingdom before his tenure as Anambra governor, which began in 2006.
A 2021 Premium Times report based on the Pandora Papers examined offshore companies linked to Obi and his wife. One of the companies, Next International (UK) Limited, was incorporated in London in May 1996, with Obi and his wife listed as directors. The company later obtained a mortgage in 2001 on a property at 53 Clyde Road, Croydon.
Obi’s spokesman has also previously stated that the former governor acquired his first house in London as far back as 1987 and that his properties were declared.
The 1996 property has also attracted scrutiny because of Obi’s brief involvement that year with a federal Task Force on Ports Decongestion during the administration of former military head of state Sani Abacha.
Obi previously released an April 24, 1996 letter signed by then Minister of State for Finance Abu Gidado, showing that he was co-opted alongside other private-sector operators to assist with efforts to address congestion at Apapa and other Nigerian ports.
Obi has described the assignment as a private-sector intervention focused on resolving problems affecting importers and businesses, rather than a formal government appointment. He has also said his involvement did not amount to political office.
The timing of the task-force appointment and the reported 1996 property transaction has subsequently been used by critics to question the source of funds for the purchase. Obi and his allies have maintained that the money came from his established business activities.
The EFCC has previously been involved in separate matters concerning Obi. In 2017, its operatives searched his Lagos apartment in connection with an investigation involving a neighbouring property where a large amount of cash had been discovered. His aide said nothing was found in Obi’s apartment and that the former governor cooperated with investigators.
However, the specific 1996 London property claim is based on Obi’s own account. Available reporting does not establish that the EFCC filed charges against him or announced an unresolved finding specifically concerning that transaction.
The issues surrounding Obi’s foreign assets and companies have also included separate scrutiny arising from the Pandora Papers. Those matters should be distinguished from Obi’s claim that the EFCC’s question about the 1996 property was answered with evidence of full payment.
