Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has rejected allegations that his administration left the state with substantial debts and unpaid liabilities.
Obi made the clarification during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, insisting that he neither borrowed money nor issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight-year tenure.
He said his administration handed over the state in March 2014 without outstanding salaries, pensions or gratuities, and maintained that contractors who had completed and received certification for their projects were also paid.
Obi said, “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.
“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.
“We were not owing any contractor or supplier who executed his job, certified and verified—not one.”
The former governor explained that some of the funds now being attributed to his administration were part of concessionary support facilitated by the Federal Government for states that had demonstrated strong performance in education.
According to him, Anambra, Ekiti and Bauchi were selected to benefit from multilateral assistance involving the World Bank under the State Education Programme Investment Project.
Obi stressed that the arrangement should not be interpreted as a commercial loan personally obtained by his administration.
“Yes, and the World Bank,” he said, when asked whether the funding was provided through a Federal Government initiative.
“To support us. Not that we go to the World Bank and say give me this, not that we go to any commercial bank.”
He further argued that funds that were approved but not drawn down could not legitimately be treated as money borrowed and spent by his administration.
“Even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money, but I did not spend the money, you cannot call it debt I left,” Obi said.
He illustrated the point by saying that if a government obtained approval for a N10bn facility but only accessed N500m, the entire N10bn should not automatically be classified as an outstanding debt.
Obi also cited former Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, as evidence of his claim that he did not seek borrowing approval from the agency while serving as governor.
He said Nwankwo had publicly described him as the only governor who never visited his office to seek approval to borrow money.
“The then DG, Abraham Nwankwo, who was DG of Debt Management Office, served for 10 years. The day he left office, at his send-off party, he invited me as the chairman, and he announced to everybody at that party that the reason why he made me chairman is that I was the only governor in Nigeria who never came to his office for approval to borrow money,” Obi said.
The controversy followed allegations by the present Anambra State Government that Obi left behind external loans and other financial obligations.
The state government, through its Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, claimed that eight external borrowings contracted during Obi’s tenure had an outstanding balance of about N127.4bn, equivalent to $123.77m, as of June 30, 2026.
It also alleged that some salary arrears and other liabilities remained unpaid and disputed Obi’s earlier claim concerning funds allegedly left in the state’s ecological account.
Obi, however, maintained that the claims against his administration were inaccurate and reiterated his position that he left the state in sound financial condition.
Meanwhile, the NDC and the Peter Obi-backed OK Movement have criticised Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, over his repeated criticisms of the former governor.
NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, described the dispute as a distraction, alleging that Soludo was being influenced by political interests.
“This is more like a distraction that Obi is having. Soludo is the man on the spot right now, apparently doing someone’s bidding to destroy his own brother,” Director said.
The Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ughulu, also urged Soludo to concentrate on governing Anambra rather than making Obi the focus of his political engagements.
Ughulu said, “We believe Soludo should focus his energy and attention on the task of governing Anambra State and delivering on the mandate entrusted to him by the people.”
He acknowledged Soludo’s right to support President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 election but argued that political differences should not result in persistent attacks against Obi.
“The growing popularity of Peter Obi across the South East and other parts of Nigeria is a political reality that cannot be wished away,” Ughulu said.
“The appropriate response to popularity in a democracy is to present a stronger vision, policies and programmes, not personal attacks.”
The dispute comes as political activities ahead of the 2027 presidential election intensify across the country.
