The Anambra State Government has released a document approving the payment of N363.381 million as the second tranche of salary arrears owed to workers, pensioners and next of kin of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency.
The disclosure came amid the continuing disagreement between former Governor Peter Obi and the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo over the financial obligations inherited by the latter when Obi left office in 2014.
The document, dated May 24, 2025, was signed by the then Head of Service, Dame Theodora Okwy Igwegbe, and addressed to Governor Soludo.
It sought approval for the release of N363,381,000 for the second payment under an out-of-court settlement reached between the state government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees.
The settlement, according to the document, was signed on February 6, 2024, and covered outstanding entitlements involving workers, pensioners and next of kin of the defunct Water Corporation and ANSEPA.
The document stated that the second tranche was due for payment in 2026.
It read in part, “That the agreed second tranche payment of Three Hundred and Sixty-Three Million, Three Hundred and Eighty-One Thousand Naira only (N363,381,000.00) is due for disbursement in line with the Terms of Settlement signed on 6th February 2024.”
It added that the payment would be processed through the state government payroll system using a dedicated account.
According to the document, the payment was expected to strengthen the government’s commitment to workers’ welfare, social justice and compliance with agreements reached with organised labour.
The state government’s New Media Office publicised the document on Friday through a post on X.
The post claimed that the Soludo administration had paid the first tranche of workers’ entitlements allegedly left unpaid by the previous administration and had proceeded with the second payment.
The latest development follows comments by Obi in which he maintained that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions or gratuities owed by the state government.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme, the former governor said, “On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I headed, was not owing any salary, gratuity, or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government.”
Obi also said his administration did not leave unpaid obligations to contractors and suppliers whose jobs had been completed and duly certified.
“We were not owing any contractor or supplier who executed his job, certified and verified—not one,” he said.
The former governor further denied borrowing money or issuing bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight-year tenure.
“Let me categorically state again: I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State in the eight years I was in government,” he said.
Obi explained that some of the funding associated with projects undertaken during his administration came through concessionary multilateral arrangements facilitated by the Federal Government.
He also argued that funds approved but not drawn or spent should not be regarded as debts incurred by his administration.
The disagreement between Obi and the Soludo administration has extended beyond the workers’ arrears, with the two sides differing over the broader financial position of Anambra State at the end of Obi’s tenure.
The state government has previously said it inherited liabilities from earlier administrations, including pension, salary and gratuity arrears, and has claimed to have cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity obligations.
However, Obi has consistently maintained that his administration left the state without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified obligations to contractors.
While the newly released document confirms the existence of the 2024 settlement and the approval process for the N363.381 million second tranche, it does not independently establish when all the arrears originated or which administration incurred the underlying obligations.
