The Anambra State Government says it is still repaying loans and other financial obligations inherited from previous administrations, including those of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during a Ndi Anambra podcast published by Anambra State New Media on Monday.
Okafor said the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had not taken any commercial bank loan since assuming office, but had continued to service debts incurred by earlier governments.
“It’s on record that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” the commissioner said.
According to him, deductions are made from the state’s monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee revenue to repay loans obtained by previous administrations.
He explained, “Every month during our FAC meetings, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations.”
The commissioner specifically linked some of the inherited loans to the administrations of Obi and Obiano.
“These loans were borrowed during the time of, even, not the immediate predecessor, even during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, the past governors,” he said.
Okafor, however, maintained that the Soludo administration had substantially reduced the state’s overall debt burden while paying off several outstanding domestic obligations.
He said, “Mr Governor has not borrowed a penny. We have been able to manage the debt, the state debt, very well, that we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today.”
The commissioner said the government had also cleared several inherited liabilities, including unpaid contracts, gratuity and pension arrears.
“In terms of our domestic debt, the control, the legacy debts, the contracts that were not paid, the gratuity arrears, pension arrears, we’ve been able to clear all that,” he said.
He added that Anambra’s domestic debt was now “near-zero balance.”
On external debts, Okafor explained that repayments were deducted from the state’s federal allocations in line with the terms governing the loans, including facilities obtained from the World Bank and other development institutions.
He also disclosed that the state had recently fully repaid one of its debts, identified as CAGS.
According to him, the debt-management measures had provided the state with greater financial flexibility to fund its priorities.
“So, in a nutshell, I’ve been able to create more fiscal space for Anambra State,” Okafor said.
He added that the administration had reduced the burden of inherited liabilities by settling outstanding debts dating back to previous administrations.
However, Obi had previously disputed claims that he borrowed from financial institutions while serving as Anambra governor.
In 2022, while speaking during an Arise TV Town Hall meeting, the former governor said he did not obtain loans during his tenure.
“During my time as a former governor, I served for eight years. You can go to that state, you will find that I never borrowed from any financial institution in Nigeria,” Obi said.
He also stated, “I have never borrowed, I served faithfully and I left their money.”
