*Presidency Dares NDC Candidate To Quit Presidential Race
THE Anambra State Government has released details of external debt allegedly inherited from the administration of former governor, Peter Obi.
In a statement on Wednesday, September 16, Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said Obi left $123.77 million in debt at the end of his tenure in March 2014.
Recall that Obi had countered the claim of Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, on Monday, September 14, that the state government was still repaying loans taken by previous administrations, including those of former governors Obi and Willie Obiano, insisting he left no outstanding debts in the state when he left office.
Obi had stated that his administration never owed any salaries, pensions, or contractor payments during his tenure, adding that he left N2.1billion Ecological Fund for the state’s coffers.
He also challenged anyone who could prove otherwise to come forward, saying: “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
However, Mefor said the presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in next year’s general elections claims about the state’s debt profile were “wild” and “verifiably false,” adding that eight external loans obtained during or inherited into Obi’s administration remained outstanding, with a combined balance of $92.35million, equivalent to N127.37 billion, as of June 30, this year.
In a statement, titled, ‘Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies,’ the state government said it decided to respond because the former governor’s claims concerned public finances and debts it said the current administration had continued to service.
Mefor stated: “We have no time to join issues. We will simply state the facts here for the records,” adding that the loans, valued about $123.77million, were tied to projects, including malaria control, Fadama development, healthcare, education, community development, erosion control and value-chain development.
The government listed, among others, a $48.33million additional financing for the Malaria Control Booster Project, of which $37.34 million remained outstanding as of June 30, 2026 and a $37.89million Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project loan, with $34.86million outstanding.
The government said the outstanding liabilities were being serviced by the current administration, noting: “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.
“It is good for Anambra once we can show the impacts.”
The government, however, said it did not consider borrowing inherently wrong, as governments could legitimately borrow for bankable projects and human-capital development, adding that the issue was whether the borrowing and expenditure could be properly accounted for.
The Governor Chukwuma Soludo administration also disputed Obi’s assertion that he left office without owing salaries, pensions and gratuities, with Mefor claiming that the current administration inherited and had cleared about N22billion in gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers.
The government also alleged that salary arrears owed to workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation remained unresolved throughout Obi’s tenure and were only being settled under the current administration, after “this administration has negotiated a settlement and already paid the first two installments of the agreed three installment payments.”
It alleged that some primary school teachers had outstanding salary, pension and gratuity arrears dating back to the administration of the late Chinwoke Mbadinuju.
Mefor insisted that Obi’s administration had verified 16 months of salary arrears and agreed to pay them in tranches, but paid only five months, adding: “This administration has set up a committee headed by the head of service to finalise a new verification for us to pay.”
He commissioner punctured Obi’s claim that he did not owe anyone when he left office, saying: “So, Your Excellency, you owed salaries, pensions and gratuities. Many of these people are still alive and can testify.
“It is not good to speak loudly without facts or with fabricated figures.”
Obi’s claimed that he deliberately left over N2.13billion untouched in an account belonging to the state as an Ecological Fund in First Bank account number 2018779464, which was released shortly before the end of his tenure to address the Oko-Umuchiana erosion crisis, for his successor because it was earmarked for a specific project and because “government is a continuum.”
The government, however, said it had obtained a certified statement of the account and found no evidence that the alleged N2.13billion was ever deposited into it, with Mefor saying the account cited by Obi was not an Ecological Fund account, but an internally generated revenue (IGR) consolidated account, adding that from 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount, whether as inflow or balance, in the account.
He also challenged the former governor to explain where the money was allegedly kept, if it was not in the account he identified, noting: “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.”
The government also disputed Obi’s claim that his administration left over N75billion in savings for subsequent governments, describing the figure as part of “nebulous creative accounting,” saying the previous administration’s claim had already been strongly disputed.
It did not, however, provide a detailed breakdown of the alleged N75billion in the statement, but stressed that its response was aimed at putting its account of the state’s finances on record.
Mefor stated that the state government would not be drawn into further arguments over the disputed figures, insisting that public records should determine the facts.
Mefor said the loans were obtained for projects, including malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development, and value chain development.
“HE Peter Obi spent about $4.05 billion (equivalent to N5.4trillion at the current exchange rate) in eight years and also contracted US$ 123.77billion in external debt alone, for which our government has so far paid billions of naira in service payments,” the statement reads.
“Let’s be clear: Hardly any government in the world has zero debt stock. The issue is not whether or not borrowing is good; no business or government can scale significantly without some debt.
“Yes, we converted the audited and published expenditures using the average official exchange rates during the eight years of HE Peter Obi, and they sum to about US$4.05billion.
“At the current official exchange rate, it would sum to about N5.4trillion, and he surely governed to the best of his ability. Of course, no government will ever finish the work of development.
“As at the date HE Peter Obi left office (17th March 2014), there were and still are eight different external borrowings his administration left for his successors.
“As of June 30, 2026, the total balance of such loans left by HE Peter Obi at the official exchange rate stood at N127.4billion.”
Mefor alleged that despite the loans obtained for various projects, Obi left Anambra without functioning urban or rural water schemes, while insecurity and poverty worsened.
He also accused Obi of leaving behind dysfunctional public schools and hospitals, with grossly inadequate teachers and medical personnel.
“We are convinced that many Ndi Anambra would not have minded if HE Peter Obi had borrowed to fix public schools and hospitals, water schemes, infrastructure, or even to reduce poverty and insecurity; debt, especially for bankable projects and human capital development, is justifiable.
“So, HE Peter Obi should stop being irked as if all debt is bad.”
In its reaction to the claims by the Anambra State Government, the Presidency, on Wednesday, dared the NDC presidential candidate to quit the race as he promised earlier.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X, wrote: “Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise.
“Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed water corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things.
“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?”
