Peter Obi Campaign Reacts As UK Authorities Dissolve Next International

The campaign team of the Labour Party (LP) has faulted reports linking its Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to the removal of Next International (UK) Limited from the record of the British Government.

Naija News earlier reported that the UK authorities had struck off a company allegedly belonging to the former Governor of Anambra State for failing to submit its annual accounts.

The company known as Next International (UK) Limited was removed from the record in September 2021 following a first and second notice of a “compulsory” strike off of the entity.

Premium Times noted that the company largely owned by the former governor of Anambra State failed to submit its annual accounts for the year 2020 which saw the company struck off and dissolved in 2021.

But in a statement on Wednesday by its Head of Media Office, Diran Onifade, the LP campaign team said those blaming Obi for the delisting of the company are seeking to make political gains and are out to smear its flagbearer’s name.

Onifade disclosed that Obi who served as its Chief Executive Officer, left the company when he became governor of Anambra State in 2006, and his wife assumed management of the company at that time.

He added that Obi has consistently maintained that he is no longer involved in any Next related business, saying those opposition should just verify facts and not falsify them.

The statement reads: “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% owned by Next Nigeria International Ltd. 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 strike off of the entity on grounds of dissolution and being  inoperational, which is  normal in winding up an entity.

“Peter Obi has consistently maintained that he is no longer involved in any Next related business.

“When Peter Obi insists that people should go and verify facts about him and the information he dishes out, he didn’t say they should go and falsify facts.