Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of the late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has shared the moment, she encountered the ‘stingy’ nature of the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi.
The Catholic priest and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry Enugu, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, had on Wednesday, described Obi as a stingy man and his comments elicited harsh reactions from his supporters.
In a post on her Facebook page titled, ’On Peter Obi’s supposed ‘Stinginess’…’ the matriarch, recalled when Obi, then, a governor of Anambra State, visited Texas and had refused to buy a designer suit for an event instead opting for a $220 suit.
She said, “The suit that was a perfect match for him was a dapper Tom Ford suit with a price tag of 3,985 dollars plus tax. He did the calculations and told me ‘Do you know how many students this amount of money can train in Nigeria?
“To cut the story short, he refused to pay what he termed ’that outrageous price’ for the Tom Ford suit and that was how we ended up at Steinmart where he agreed to pay a more acceptable price of 220 dollars, tax inclusive, for a basic men’s suit which he was happy to wear to that evening’s event.
“What struck me, was that as we were on the way to the airport to see him off for his return flight back to Nigeria, he reached for his pocket where he brought out an envelope of crisp hundred dollar bills. The amount in the envelope was 3,800 dollars.
“He said ‘Anyanwu, this is the balance of the money I would have paid for the ‘Ford’ suit. If the label on the suit was ‘Peter Obi’, I am wondering if anybody in America will pay that amount for it. I have deducted the amount we paid for that suit we eventually bought. Please use this balance for your Charity foundation to help those in actual need. I trust you will do so’. We all laughed heartily. Vintage Peter Obi!”
Mrs Ojukwu went on to list the beneficiaries of Obi’s gift via her foundation.