This post is all about the complete biography of Peter Obi and how he made his money. It also includes his date of birth, place of origin, family, early life, education, businesses, career, political ambition, and lots more.
| Full name | Peter Gregory Obi |
| Famous for | Former Governor of Anambra State (3 times). Chairman and Director of Guardian Express Mortgage Bank Ltd. Youngest Chairman of Fidelity Bank PLC. 2019 Vice-presidential candidate of PDP in Nigeria 2023 presidential candidate of Labour party in Nigeria |
| Date of birth | 19 July 1961 |
| Place of birth | Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria |
| Education | Christ the King College, Onitsha The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Undergraduate degree). Lagos Business School Harvard Business School London School of Economics. Columbia Business School Institute for Management Development |
| Occupation | Banker, Businessman, and Politician |
Who is Peter Obi?
Peter Gregory Obi is a Nigerian businessman and politician. He was the Governor of Anambra State 3 different times, starting from 2006 to 2014.
Before he ventured into politics, Peter Obi held high-ranking executive positions in many Nigerian banks.
In 2019, he was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate in the presidential election. He ran alongside Atiku Abubakar, but the duo lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and vice president Yemi Osinbajo.
In Mid 2022, Peter Obi emerged as the presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential election under the umbrella of the Labour Party.
Early life and education
Peter Gregory Obi was born to his parents on 19 July 1961, in Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Speaking of education, Peter Obi enrolled in the Christ the King College, Onitsha. After completing his secondary school, he obtained admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in 1980.
In 1984, he graduated with an undergraduate degree (Hons) in philosophy. Back in those days, an undergraduate degree was highly respected by employers just like a PhD is.
Peter Obi could have gotten a job with his certificate easily. However, he enrolled in Lagos business school, Nigeria for a Chief Executive Program. From there, he studied two courses at the Harvard business school, in Boston, United States.
Peter Gregory Obi further attended many higher education institutions over his lifetime. Some of them are highlighted below.
- London School of Economics (Financial Mgmt/Business Policy)
- Columbia Business School, New York, U.S.A. (Marketing Management)
- Institute for management development, Switzerland where he also got two certificates in Senior Executive Program and Break-Through Program for CEOs
- Kellogg Graduate School of Management, U.S.A. (Advanced Executive Program)
- Kellogg School of Management U.S.A. (Global Advanced Mgmt Program)
- Oxford University (Advanced Management & Leadership Program)
- Cambridge University: George Business School (Advanced Leadership Program)
How Peter Obi made his money: Business and entrepreneurship
Contrary to what many people think, Peter Obi didn’t make his first money from politics. He was already well-to-do before contesting in the Anambra governorship election.
Peter Obi was a businessman before he embarked on his political career. After leaving university, he started his career as a trader and made money from it.
That wasn’t hard to do, since his family is deep-rooted in trading and Peter Obi grew up getting familiar with it.
Aside from being a businessman and trader, Peter Gregory Obi also held key positions in many private companies. Here are some of them:
- Chairman: Fidelity Bank Plc (Also the youngest employee to hold the position)
- Chairman: Guardian Express Mortgage Bank, Ltd
- Chairman: Future Views Securities, Ltd
- Chairman: Paymaster Nigeria Plc
- Chairman: Next International (Nigeria) Ltd
- Director: Guardian Express Bank Plc
- Director: Chams Nigeria Plc
- Director: Emerging Capital Ltd
- Director: Card Centre Plc
Peter Gregory Obi is also a member of many important groups in the economic, financial, and business fields.
He has a membership in the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers, and the British Institute of Directors (IOD).
Peter Obi: Political career
Contesting in the Anambra governorship election
In 2003, Peter Gregory Obi contested for the governorship of Anambra state, under the umbrella of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) political party.
Loses election, takes Ngige and INEC to court
As fate would have it, Peter Obi didn’t win the election. Instead, INEC declared Chris Ngige (another candidate from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP), as the winner of the 2003 governorship election.
After 3 years of fighting back and appearing in court, INEC results were declared void on 15 March 2006. As a result, Peter Obi was declared the rightful governor of Anambra State.
Being removed as a governor
After 7 months in office, on November 02, 2006, Peter Gregory Obi was impeached by the State House of Assembly.
His deputy, Virginia Etiaba automatically became the governor (as the next in line). That made her the first female governor in Nigeria, and no one has met or broken her record to date.
Peter Obi went to court and reported the impeachment. The court of appeal (in Enugu) declared the impeachment invalid and he was reinstated on the 9th of February 2007.
As the rule of democracy required, Etiaba had to return all power to Peter Obi, since the impeachment was not approved in the first place.
Second time in the office
It’s 2007, and time for a new election. Andy Uba won this time and Peter Obi had to leave office.
As a last resort, he went to court and claimed that his four-year tenure (which he won in 2003) only started counting from the moment he assumed office (in March 2006).
You’re probably smiling right now, right?
On the 14th of June, The Supreme Court of Nigeria made its decision and declared the 2007 election invalid, as Peter Gregory Obi still has an unused tenure of 3 years.
Third time in office: Second-term governor of Anambra state
In the 2010 Anambra governorship election, Peter Gregory Obi was declared the winner on the 7th of February, 2010.
Obi spent his second term as the governor of Anambra state. On March 17, 2014, he handed over to Willie Obiano.
As a 2019 vice-presidential candidate
In 2019, Peter Gregory Obi was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate in the presidential election, and he ran alongside Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate under the umbrella of the PDP.
However, PDP lost to APC. As a result, the incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari and his vice president Yemi Osinbajo continued office and will remain till 2023.
As a 2023 presidential candidate
On May 30, 2022, Peter Gregory Obi was nominated as a presidential candidate in the 2023 general presidential election, under the umbrella of the Labour Party.
Peter Obi: Awards and achievements
Peter Gregory Obi has won many awards and achievements in the course of his business and political career.
- Sun Newspaper’s Man of the Year (2007)
- This Day 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)
Also, the administration of Peter Gregory Obi did not leave any debt behind. Instead, they left office with an investment. Peter Obi further claimed on the day he left office, Anambra State had ₦75 billion.
That, my friend, is a very unusual and one-time occurrence in our country. Most Nigerian governors can’t leave up to 8% of that. In fact, many leave the office with billions of debt.