The Anambra State Government has released details of loans it says remained outstanding when former Governor Peter Obi left office in March 2014, disputing his claim that he handed over a debt-free administration.
The government said eight external loans linked to projects undertaken or inherited during Obi’s tenure had a combined outstanding balance of $92.35 million, equivalent to N127.37 billion, as of June 30, 2026.
Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, made the disclosure in a statement titled, “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.”
The statement followed Obi’s denial of allegations that his administration left behind unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities, contractors’ bills and other liabilities.
Obi had maintained that he cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears before leaving office and challenged anyone with contrary evidence to produce it.
The state government, however, said the current administration had continued to service external loans associated with malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development and agricultural projects.
Among the loans listed was $48.33 million in additional financing for the Malaria Control Booster Project, with $37.34 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
The government also cited a $37.89 million Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project loan, with $34.86 million outstanding.
Mefor said the Soludo administration was servicing the liabilities and argued that borrowing itself was not necessarily wrong when funds were used for viable projects and human-capital development.
The government also disputed Obi’s claim that he left office without salary, pension or gratuity arrears.
According to Mefor, the current administration inherited and cleared about N22 billion in gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers.
The commissioner also alleged that workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation had outstanding salary arrears, which the present administration had begun settling.
He further claimed that some primary school teachers had salary, pension and gratuity arrears dating back to the administration of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju.
The government said Obi’s administration had verified 16 months of such salary arrears and agreed to pay them in instalments, but only five months were reportedly paid.
The most disputed issue remains Obi’s claim that he left more than N2.13 billion in an account as an ecological fund.
Obi had identified a First Bank account and said the money was released shortly before he left office to tackle the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
He said the funds were deliberately left untouched because they were earmarked for the project and because government was a continuum.
But the Anambra Government said a certified statement of the account showed no record of the alleged N2.13 billion.
Mefor said the account cited by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, rather than an ecological fund account.
He added that the account had never recorded the alleged amount as either an inflow or balance since it was opened in 2011.
The commissioner therefore challenged Obi to explain where the funds were kept if they were not deposited in the account he identified.
The government also rejected Obi’s claim that his administration left more than N75 billion in savings for succeeding governments.
Mefor described the figure as disputed and said the government’s position was that public records should determine the facts.
The latest exchange has renewed the debate over Anambra’s financial position at the end of Obi’s administration and the liabilities inherited by his successor, Willie Obiano.
The dispute comes as Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), continues preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Both sides have maintained contrasting positions on the state’s financial records, with the Anambra Government insisting that its figures are supported by public records.
