Obi left N127.37bn external debt, he borrowed for Malaria, Erosion control, others – Anambra Govt

The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor and Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his claim that he left office in March 2014 without outstanding debts, salary arrears, pensions, gratuities or other financial liabilities.

The state government, in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, described Obi’s claims about the state’s debt profile as “wild” and “verifiably false.”

Mefor said the current administration was still servicing external loans obtained during or inherited by Obi’s administration, with the outstanding balance of eight such loans put at $92.35 million, equivalent to N127.37 billion, as of June 30, 2026.

The loans, according to the government, were originally valued at about $123.77 million and were tied to projects covering malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development, Fadama development and value-chain development.

The statement listed an additional $48.33 million financing for the Malaria Control Booster Project, with $37.34 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026.

It also cited a $37.89 million Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project loan, of which $34.86 million remained outstanding.

“Evidently, HE Peter Obi borrowed for malaria, erosion control, education, healthcare, etc. So far, this government pays hundreds of millions of Naira every month to service these debts and we are not complaining,” the statement said.

“It is good for Anambra once we can show the impacts.”

The government said borrowing itself was not necessarily wrong, arguing that governments could legitimately obtain loans for viable projects and human-capital development.

It said the critical issue was whether such borrowing and the resulting expenditure could be properly accounted for.

The latest exchange followed Obi’s response to earlier claims by the Anambra Government that his administration left behind financial obligations, including an alleged N2 billion ecological fund-related liability, unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities and other commitments.

Obi had rejected the allegations, saying his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears before leaving office.

He also maintained that he left no outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts to contractors for duly executed and certified projects.

“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi said.

Responding, Mefor said the Soludo administration had inherited and cleared about N22 billion in gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government workers and teachers.

The commissioner also alleged that salary arrears owed to workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation remained unresolved throughout Obi’s tenure and were now being addressed by the current administration.

“This administration has negotiated a settlement and already paid the first two instalments of the agreed three instalment payments,” Mefor said.

The government further alleged that some primary school teachers had salary, pension and gratuity arrears dating back to the administration of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju.

According to Mefor, Obi’s administration verified 16 months of salary arrears and agreed to pay them in instalments but settled only five months.

“This administration has set up a committee headed by the Head of Service to finalise a new verification for us to pay,” he said.

Mefor directly challenged Obi’s assertion that he left office without owing salaries, pensions or gratuities.

“So, Your Excellency, you owed salaries, pensions and gratuities. Many of these people are still alive and can testify,” he said.

“It is not good to speak loudly without facts or with fabricated figures.”

N2.13bn Ecological Fund Dispute

Another major point of disagreement is Obi’s claim that he left more than N2.13 billion in a First Bank account belonging to the state as an ecological fund.

Obi had identified the account as First Bank account number 2018779464, saying the funds were released shortly before he left office to address the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.

He said he deliberately left the money untouched for his successor because it was earmarked for a specific project, stressing that “government is a continuum.”

The Anambra Government, however, said a certified statement of the account showed no evidence that N2.13 billion was ever deposited into it.

According to Mefor, the account cited by Obi was not an ecological fund account but an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Consolidated Revenue Account.

“First, the account is an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Consolidated Revenue Account, and NOT an ecological fund account,” he said.

“Second, from 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount—whether as inflow or balance—in the account.”

The commissioner challenged Obi to explain where the money was allegedly kept if it was not deposited in the account he identified.

“Since HE Peter Obi raised the issue and admitted that his government received such an amount and it is evident that no such an amount ever entered into the account that he cited, it behoves on HE Peter Obi to tell us where exactly his government kept the money or is the money missing?” Mefor asked.

The state government also disputed Obi’s claim that his administration left more than N75 billion in savings for subsequent administrations.

Mefor described the figure as part of what he called “nebulous creative accounting”, while noting that the claim had previously been disputed.

The statement, however, did not provide a detailed breakdown of the N75 billion figure or the specific components of the alleged savings.

The renewed disagreement has reopened the longstanding debate over the financial position of Anambra State when Obi handed over power to former Governor Willie Obiano in March 2014.

The dispute comes as Obi, now the NDC presidential candidate, continues preparations for the 2027 general election.

While Obi has repeatedly challenged the state government to produce evidence of debts and liabilities allegedly inherited from his administration, the Soludo administration has maintained that it is servicing loans and settling financial obligations it says were inherited from previous administrations.

Mefor said the latest statement was intended to place the government’s position and the figures it relied upon on record, rather than engage in a prolonged public argument.

He maintained that public records should ultimately determine the facts surrounding the state’s finances and the liabilities associated with previous administrations.

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