Anambra Govt Accuses Peter Obi of Concealing $123.7m Loans, Workers’ Arrears

THE Anambra State Government has accused former governor Peter Obi of concealing loans and other financial liabilities allegedly incurred during his eight-year administration in the state.

The latest accusation was contained in a statement shared on Saturday, September 26, on X, by Law Mefor, the state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, as the government renewed its criticism of Obi over the financial legacy of his administration.

The development is the latest in a growing dispute between Obi and the administration of Governor Charles Soludo over whether the former governor left the state with outstanding debts and unpaid obligations when he handed over power in March 2014.

The state government said Obi’s administration signed eight external financing facilities with a combined contracted value of $123.77 million.

It said the outstanding balance of the facilities stood at $92.35 million, equivalent to about N127.37 billion, as of June 30, 2026, according to figures it attributed to the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The government said the loans were for projects covering malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development and agricultural value-chain development.

However, Obi has rejected the description of the $123.77 million as debt he left behind, saying he neither approached any financial institution to borrow money nor issued a bond on behalf of Anambra during his tenure.

In a statement and subsequent interview, the former governor argued that the state government was conflating the total value of multi year development facilities with the amount actually drawn and the balance outstanding when he left office.

Obi said Anambra’s external debt was about $18 million when he assumed office in 2006 and about $30 million when he left in March 2014.

How the dispute started

The latest dispute followed comments by the state Commissioner for Finance Izuchukwu Okafor that the Soludo administration was still servicing loans inherited from previous governments, including those of Obi and former governor Willie Obiano.

Okafor said deductions were being made from the state’s federal allocation to service the obligations.

Obi rejected the claim, insisting that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts owed to contractors and suppliers whose jobs had been completed, certified and verified.

He subsequently challenged the state government to identify anyone he owed when he left office, saying he would stop his 2027 presidential campaign if such a debt was established.

The Anambra government subsequently released details of eight external loan facilities it said were contracted during Obi’s tenure.

It maintained that the facilities remained obligations of the state and that successive administrations had continued to service them.

Beyond the external loans, the Anambra government accused Obi of leaving salary, pension and gratuity arrears involving workers and retirees.

Mefor specifically cited workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation, saying their salary and retirement-related claims had remained unresolved after Obi left office.

The government said a 2009 arbitration process and a 2019 National Industrial Court judgment affirmed liabilities involving the workers.

It said the Soludo administration entered an out-of-court settlement with the affected workers in February 2024 for N1.56 billion and had so far paid about N1.20 billion, with a final tranche still outstanding.

The government also alleged that 11 months of pension arrears owed to primary school teachers remained unpaid when Obi left office.

According to the state, Obi inherited 16 months of arrears from a previous administration, paid five months and left 11 months unpaid.

Dispute over N2.13bn ecological fund

The state government also challenged Obi’s claim that he left more than N2.13 billion in an account belonging to the state’s ecological fund.

Obi had said the money was released shortly before the end of his administration for erosion intervention and was left untouched for his successor.

Mefor, however, said the government obtained records from First Bank showing that the account cited by Obi was an internally generated revenue consolidated account and not an ecological fund account.

The commissioner said the account records did not show an inflow or balance corresponding to the N2.13 billion claimed by the former governor.

Obi maintains he left savings

Obi has also maintained that his administration left more than $150 million in investments for Anambra State.

He said the investments could have generated about $10 million annually if they had remained untouched and argued that the returns could have been used over time to offset the liabilities now cited by the state government.

The former governor has urged the Anambra government to publish the records supporting its claims and distinguish between facilities approved during his tenure, funds actually drawn and the debt outstanding when he left office.

The dispute has gained political significance ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which Obi is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

In an interview on September 24, Obi accused state governors of creating obstacles for opposition candidates and appealed to governors to allow rival presidential candidates to campaign freely in their states.

He also suggested that the dispute with the Anambra government could have a political dimension, although he said he had no personal problem with Soludo.

ICFR Nigeria