By TheDailyNewsHub
Former Anambra State governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi has defended his wife’s right to spend her personal money as she wishes, saying her financial affairs are separate from his responsibilities as a public office holder.
Obi made the remarks in comments that have resurfaced amid a fresh online debate over the cost of a luxury Hermès handbag reportedly carried by his wife, Margaret Obi.
“My wife has her own business and her own money, so what is my business if she buys expensive items with her money?” Obi said. “The bags and shoes my wife wears, I don’t even know how much they cost.”
He further said that his wife was actually less sophisticated after he became governor of Anambra State than she had been before he assumed office.
“She used to be far more sophisticated before I became governor,” Obi said. “I’m managing public money, and as long as she lives her own life without interfering with my management of public funds, good luck to her.”
Obi, who served as Anambra governor from 2006 to 2013, also recalled that he did not establish an Office of the First Lady during his tenure.
“I didn’t even have an Office of the First Lady while I was governor,” he said, adding that he personally did not celebrate his birthday but would attend celebrations organised by others provided he was not asked to finance them.
“I don’t celebrate my own birthday, but I don’t stop people from celebrating. As long as you don’t ask me to pay the birthday bills, I will even attend if you invite me,” he said.
The comments come as photographs and videos of Margaret Obi carrying a green Hermès handbag have generated considerable discussion on social media.
Several reports and social-media commentators have identified the bag as a Hermès Kelly 35 in Malachite. Some reports have cited a price of about £131,938.81, which translates to more than ₦200 million depending on the exchange rate. However, there is no publicly available evidence establishing that Margaret Obi paid that amount for the particular bag she was carrying.
A report by The Moment noted that no receipt, purchase record or other evidence had been produced to establish the actual price paid for the handbag, when it was acquired or where it was purchased.
The reported price nevertheless triggered criticism from some Nigerians, particularly because of Peter Obi’s long-standing political image of personal frugality and his advocacy for reducing waste and the cost of governance.
Lere Olayinka, an aide to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, criticised the former governor over the controversy, arguing that the issue was not necessarily whether Margaret Obi was entitled to own an expensive handbag, but whether the luxury item was consistent with the image of prudence associated with her husband.
Media personality Daddy Freeze also weighed into the debate, arguing that a luxury handbag was not inherently problematic but questioning whether such an item was consistent with Obi’s public presentation of himself as an exceptionally frugal politician.
Others have defended Margaret Obi, arguing that the handbag is a private matter and that there is no evidence that public funds were used to acquire it.
Activist lawyer Maduabuchi Idam similarly argued that even if the handbag cost more than ₦200 million, private expenditure should not automatically be equated with corruption. He said the more important questions for a presidential candidate were whether his wealth was legitimately acquired and whether public resources had been diverted for private use.
The controversy comes as Obi campaigns for the presidency ahead of the 2027 general election. The former Anambra governor was formally unveiled as the NDC’s presidential candidate at the party’s special convention in Abuja in May 2026, with former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso announced as his running mate.
Obi’s latest comments therefore take on added political significance as questions about personal wealth, lifestyle, accountability and the management of public resources are likely to remain part of the 2027 campaign debate.
For now, the ₦200 million-plus figure attached to Margaret Obi’s handbag is a reported or estimated value, not a confirmed purchase price. There is also no evidence in the reports reviewed that the handbag was bought with public funds.
The debate ultimately returns to the distinction Obi himself made: whether a public official’s spouse spending private money on luxury goods should be judged separately from the official’s record in managing public resources.