The Anambra State Government has renewed its dispute with former governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi, insisting that his administration incurred debts that remained after he left office in 2014.
The government also alleged that Obi’s administration left unpaid obligations to some workers and pensioners, while describing what it called his “saintly” public image as the product of effective “media packaging.”
Obi has repeatedly rejected the allegations, maintaining that he paid obligations due before leaving office and left substantial savings and investments for his successor.
In an ARISE News interview on September 24, he again disputed the state government’s characterisation of the external loans and said he left more than $150 million in savings and investments.
In a statement, Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, said the government was responding because Obi had challenged anyone to provide evidence that he left debts when his tenure ended on March 17, 2014.
“We watched the interview by His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, CON, on Arise TV on 24th September, 2026, where he tried to equivocate about the settled matter of his legacy of debts in Anambra, with intent to obfuscate and change the subject,” Mefor said.
“You cannot attack first and then end up as the victim at the same time. For us, it is only a matter of record. Since Mr. Obi himself initiated this self-imposed challenge — daring anyone to prove that he left debts — it is only a matter of integrity and character that he owns up to the outcome.”
The government accused Obi and his supporters of applying different standards to criticism directed at him, while arguing that his public image had benefited significantly from favourable presentation in the media.
“And indeed, to his credit, the media packaging has worked,” the statement said.
The government also revisited an earlier dispute over Obi-era investments, including his administration’s investment in a brewery, claiming that its current value was significantly below figures previously associated with it.
At the centre of the latest dispute are eight external loan facilities which the Soludo administration says were contracted during Obi’s eight years as governor.
“We have definitively and conclusively provided evidence that H.E. Peter Obi’s administration signed eight loans from the IDA-World Bank over his eight-year tenure, totalling US$123,771,179.30,” the statement said.
The government further claimed that, as of June 30, 2026, the outstanding balance on the facilities stood at $92.35 million, equivalent to about N127.37 billion, with successive Anambra administrations servicing the obligations through deductions.
Public reporting on the dispute confirms that the Anambra Government has released records identifying eight external loan facilities associated with Obi’s administration and put their outstanding balance at $92.35 million as of June 2026. However, Obi disputes the government’s interpretation of those facilities and maintains that he left office without unpaid obligations.
Obi has also argued that the facilities involved federally negotiated development programmes and should not be presented simply as debts he personally sought from the World Bank. Reporting on the dispute has noted that some of the facilities involved the Federal Government as the original borrower, with states participating through subsidiary arrangements.
The Soludo administration rejected that defence, arguing that a state’s participation and execution of the relevant loan agreements created liabilities regardless of whether the governor personally approached the World Bank or Debt Management Office.
“No state government is forced to take any IDA-World Bank loan: you must express interest and sign for the loan before you can access it,” the statement said.
“The fact again is that H.E. Peter Obi borrowed and left a debt of over US$123 million contrary to all his lies about it for 13 years, and the current government is paying billions of Naira in repayment.”
However, Obi has maintained that he left assets and savings exceeding outstanding liabilities and has challenged the Soludo administration’s account of his financial record. His former Secretary to the State Government, Oseloka Obaze, also recently released a handover document which he said showed that the Obi administration left N86.6 billion for its successor, although the document does not independently establish that all the stated funds were available at handover.
The Anambra Government also alleged that Obi’s administration left unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities involving more than 700 former Anambra State Water Corporation workers, citing an arbitration process and a subsequent National Industrial Court judgment.
It further rejected Obi’s argument that the savings and investments he left behind should be considered alongside any liabilities.
“Yes, we don’t dispute that you saved $150 million, and if it had not been spent by your immediate successor, it would have been earning interest. But did it, and does it make any sense at all?” the government said.
“The issue was never whether the assets you left behind were more than enough to repay the debt. That is what you are saying now. But your initial challenge was that you never left any debt.”
The government argued that both assets and liabilities should have been disclosed when Obi handed over to his successor.
Obi, however, has continued to reject claims that he left unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or properly certified contractor obligations, making the financial record of his eight-year administration an increasingly prominent issue in the political exchanges ahead of the 2027 elections.
David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
Follow us on:
