ANAMBRA GOVERNMENT CHALLENGES OBI’S CLAIMS OVER LOANS AND OUTSTANDING LIABILITIES

The Anambra State Government has disputed former Governor Peter Obi’s claim that he left the state without outstanding debts or unpaid obligations when he left office in March 2014. The state government said records from the Debt Management Office showed that eight external loans contracted during Obi’s administration still had outstanding balances, which it put at N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the official exchange rate.

The Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, made the disclosure in a statement issued in Awka on Wednesday. He said the loans were obtained for areas including erosion control, healthcare, education and malaria intervention, adding that the current administration had continued to make repayments on the facilities.

Obi had earlier rejected claims that his administration left unpaid loans, salaries, pensions, gratuities or contractor liabilities. The former governor said his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and maintained that he handed over the state without outstanding obligations to workers or contractors for completed and certified projects.

The state government, however, alleged that some salary, pension and gratuity obligations remained after Obi left office. It specifically mentioned outstanding payments involving former staff of the state Water Corporation and some primary school teachers, while also disputing Obi’s account of an alleged N2.13 billion ecological fund kept in a First Bank account in Awka. The government said its records did not show the claimed amount in the account cited by the former governor.

Obi’s media team said it was preparing a detailed response to the allegations, with former officials who served during his administration expected to address the issues raised by the state government. The dispute comes amid increased political activity ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which Obi is a presidential candidate, with both sides presenting different accounts of the financial position of Anambra at the end of his administration.