Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Anambra State Government has released what it described as the certified public debt records of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Mr. Peter Obi, during his tenure as governor of the state, insisting that he left behind significant domestic and external debts, as well as unpaid pensions and gratuities. The records were contained in a press statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor, and titled "Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies." The government said it was compelled to respond because the present administration has been spending billions of naira servicing the debts left behind by the Obi administration, and a responsible government owes the public a response in the interest of transparency and accountability.
According to the statement, Obi's administration contracted eight different external borrowings which remained outstanding as of the time he left office on March 17, 2014. Records from the Debt Management Office showed that the loans were originally valued at $123.77 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026. At the official exchange rate, the total balance of these loans stood at N127.4 billion. The loans were obtained for projects covering malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development and agricultural value-chain development. Among them was additional financing of $48.33 million for the Malaria Control Booster Project, with $37.34 million still outstanding, while $34.86 million remained on a $37.89 million loan for the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project. The government said it was not complaining about servicing the debts, adding that borrowing was not inherently wrong when used for viable projects and human-capital development.
The state government also rejected Obi's claim that he left more than N2.13 billion in an ecological fund account. Mefor said the government had obtained a certified printout of the First Bank account, number 2018779464, identified by Obi as the account where he left the ecological funds. He said the account was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, not an ecological fund account, and that from 2011 when the account was opened until date, there had never been any such amount, whether as inflow or balance, in the account. The commissioner consequently asked Obi to explain where the N2.13 billion he claimed to have left for his successor was kept. Obi had said the money was released barely three months before the end of his tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis, and that he refused pressure to spend it, insisting it should be left for his successor because government is a continuum. He claimed the money was left one hundred per cent intact in First Bank, with the account balance standing at more than N2.13 billion.
The government further disputed Obi's claim that his administration left office without owing salaries, gratuities or pensions. Mefor said the current administration had cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers, but added that some legacy liabilities dating back to previous administrations remained outstanding. He specifically mentioned salary arrears owed to workers of the defunct Water Corporation, saying the current administration had negotiated a settlement and paid the first two instalments of an agreed three-instalment arrangement. He also alleged that 16 months of salary arrears owed to primary school teachers under the local government system had been verified and certified during Obi's tenure but remained unpaid. The government also claimed that Obi spent about $4.05 billion during his eight years in office, which it said would amount to about N5.4 trillion when converted at the current official exchange rate, and alleged that despite the expenditure, he left the state with challenges in public water supply, education, healthcare, insecurity and infrastructure.
The statement was issued in response to a recent post by Obi on what he described as "Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy," which the former governor appeared to have made in reaction to comments by the state Commissioner for Finance. Obi has maintained that he cleared more than N35 billion in historical arrears and left office without owing salaries, pensions, gratuities or contractors for duly completed and certified projects. He also challenged anyone with contrary evidence to produce it. The exchange between the Anambra State Government and the former governor has intensified the political debate over Obi's financial legacy as the 2027 presidential election approaches. The government has said it remains focused on delivering dividends of democracy to Ndi Anambra, but insists that the records it has released speak for themselves.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments