The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has denied claming that the former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, was his classmate in high school.
Obi, during a project commissioning event organised by Rives State governor Nyesom Wike , reportedly said: “Peter Odili was my senior at CKC (Christ the King College. Any time Odili was not able to play, just know we have lost that day.
“Everyone knows my school and my schoolmates, not some people that no one knows their schoolmates or the schools they attended.”
Critics have taken to their social media platforms to condemn him. They said Odili was born in 1948 and graduated from high school in 1967, while Obi was admitted into CKC in 1973 and graduated in 1978.
Obviously, Odili had graduated before Peter Obi gained admission into CKC.
Reacting to the comment through a statement, Obi said his remarks were wrongly interpreted.
He said: “My remarks when I visited Port Harcourt have been wrongly interpreted by some people. The former governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili, and I are among other prominent Nigerians that schooled in Christ the King College (CKC) Onitsha, and we remain alumni of the school.
“I did not say that former governor Odili was my classmate, rather I said that he was a great footballer in my school, and we all cherished and had good memories of his football exploits when we got into the school.
“I was in CKC from 1973 to 1978 and Dr Peter Odili had graduated before I got into the school. He was such a fabulous footballer whose image still loomed large even in our time, especially considering the fact that my Primary School was very close to CKC.
“The Primary School that I attended – Santa Maria School/Holy Trinity School – were both owned by the same Catholic Church that owned Christ the King College (CKC), Onitsha. In fact, both Primary Schools were feeder schools to CKC, and a large number of pupils who passed through the schools ended up in CKC for secondary education.”