Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has defended his offshore assets mentioned in the Panama Papers, describing the funds as legitimate family savings and insisting that he properly declared all his foreign holdings.
Obi made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday, where he addressed questions surrounding documents from the Panama Papers that linked him to offshore accounts and assets reportedly valued at more than $100 million.
The former Anambra State governor said the funds came from his legitimate earnings before he entered public office. He rejected claims that he used offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes.
“There is nothing called a tax haven in the way people describe it. I opened an account while I lived in the UK and started saving for what I called a family estate. Every year, because I had an income then, I saved a portion of it,” Obi said.
He explained that he declared his overseas assets and that the Code of Conduct Bureau investigated the holdings but found no wrongdoing.
“I listed my assets overseas. It will shock you that the Code of Conduct Bureau actually investigated those assets, and they found nothing wrong,” he added.
Obi said there was nothing improper about saving money abroad before becoming governor of Anambra State.
He argued that his ability to save funds for his family before holding public office was similar to his financial discipline during his time as governor, when he said he managed state resources responsibly.
The Panama Papers refer to a collection of leaked documents published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The documents exposed offshore financial arrangements involving politicians, business executives and public officials around the world.
