LP: Why Obi’s UK Firm, Next International, Was Shutdown

Gabriel Emameh in Abuja

The Labour Party (LP) yesterday responded to report that the United Kingdom-based company of its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi was shut down by the authorities.

It was reported that the UK government dissolved Next International (UK) Limited, largely owned by Obi over failure to submit its annual accounts. The report claimed that the said company failed to submit its annual accounts for 2020, hence it was dissolved in 2021.
However, reacting yesterday, Obi’s campaign team in a statement by the Head of Media, Obi-Datti Media Office, Diran Onifade, told critics to always verify facts and not falsify them.

According to the party, Obi’s political enemies were rattled by his rising popularity and resorted to using unfounded reports about Next International (UK) Limited against him.

It noted that “In order that the huge human and material resources deployed to search and locate any negative against the high flying Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is not seen to have been wasted, anything could be concocted to justify the efforts.

“We have watched with bemused skepticism as agents of the political opposition unsettled by the high rising profile of the Labour Party flag bearer, ran around and made fools of themselves over the Next International (UK) Limited being removed from the record in 2021.

“Ordinarily, this is the type of mischief and impishness that should deserve no response, but for the credulous in our midst who are the real target by this impairment.

“For the record, the entity was 99 per cent owned by Next Nigeria International Limited and established as its buying office in the 90s and Peter Obi was its CEO.
“At the time Peter Obi became governor of Anambra State in 2006, his wife assumed management of the winding down of the company and about one year ago requested that the company be dissolved under the voluntary striking off of the entity on grounds of dissolution and being operational, which is normal in winding up an entity.”

The LP pointed out that Obi has consistently maintained that he was no longer involved in any Next-related business.
“When our principal insists that you go and verify facts about him and the information he dishes out, it didn’t say go and falsify facts.
“The LP candidate, by his antecedents in Anambra State for eight years, in private ventures where he held sway, his records among the pack in this race for the presidency puts him miles ahead in moral rating,” the statement added.