Show proof I left Anambra with debts, I’ll stop my 2027 campaign – Obi dares Soludo

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has challenged claims that his administration left financial obligations for successive governments in Anambra State, saying he would stop his 2027 presidential campaign if evidence emerges contradicting his account of the state’s finances when he left office.

Obi spoke in a viral video while reacting to claims by the Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, that the state government was still servicing loans inherited from previous administrations, including those of Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.

Okafor had made the disclosure during the Ndi Anambra podcast, explaining that the Chukwuma Soludo administration had not taken fresh commercial bank loans since assuming office but had continued to service existing obligations.

The commissioner said deductions were being made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds to repay loans obtained by previous administrations.

However, Obi disputed any suggestion that he left Anambra with unpaid obligations, insisting that his administration settled salaries, pensions, gratuities and other government liabilities before he left office.

According to the former governor, he also did not owe suppliers or contractors who had completed their jobs and whose documentation had been processed.

“I left office as Governor nearly 13 years ago. On the day I left office, I did not owe any salaries, pensions, gratuities, or any money the Anambra State Government was supposed to pay,” Obi said.

He further claimed that he left more than N2 billion in a First Bank account belonging to the state government.

“I did not owe a single supplier or contractor who had executed his job and had his documents processed. The day I left office, there was a balance of over 2 billion left in First Bank,” he said.

Obi explained that the money had been earmarked for an ongoing project and represented a contribution from the Federal Government that was received about three months before he left office.

He said some people around him had wanted the funds spent before the end of his administration, but he resisted the suggestion because he believed government should be treated as a continuous institution.

“My people were saying, ‘let’s spend the money,’ but I kept telling them that government is a continuity and I want the government after me to succeed and start comfortably,” he said.

Obi subsequently challenged anyone disputing his account to verify the relevant records and promised to abandon his 2027 presidential campaign if the records contradicted his claims.

“I will give you the account details and if you see anything contrary to the day I left office, I will stop campaigning because I was not owing anybody,” he said.

The development comes amid a renewed debate over Anambra State’s debt position, with the Soludo administration maintaining that it inherited loan obligations and other financial commitments from previous governments.

The commissioner had, however, said the current administration had significantly reduced the state’s debt burden and cleared several inherited domestic obligations, including some legacy debts.

Obi’s latest comments are likely to further intensify scrutiny of the financial records of successive administrations in Anambra State as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 elections.

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