Peter Obi rejects claims over Anambra debts, saying he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions, contractors or suppliers awaiting payment
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has rejected claims that his administration left behind unpaid debts for the state to service, insisting on 15 September 2026 that he cleared all obligations before leaving office.
Also read: Anambra still paying Obi and Obiano-era debts, says commissioner for finance
Obi, who governed Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, made the remarks in a video while responding to claims by the state government that Anambra is still servicing loans inherited from previous administrations, including his tenure and that of his successor, Willie Obiano.
The dispute followed comments by Anambra State Commissioner for Finance Izuchukwu Okafor, who said the state’s federal allocation was still being deducted to repay loans obtained by previous administrations.
Obi said his administration did not leave unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities, suppliers’ debts or outstanding payments to contractors who had completed their work.
“As at the day I left office, I was not owing any salary, pension, or gratuity that Anambra State Government is supposed to pay,” Obi said.
“I was not owing any supplier or contractor that had executed his job and his documents processed, not one. The day I left office; I paid what was due to be paid.”
The former governor also addressed claims surrounding an ecological fund, saying he left about N2.1 billion in a First Bank account specifically designated for an erosion control project.
According to Obi, the Federal Government released the money shortly before he left office.
He said he deliberately kept the funds untouched because they were tied to a specific project.
“My people were saying, ‘let’s expend this money’. But I kept telling them, government is a continuity and I want the person coming after me to succeed,” he said.
Obi challenged anyone disputing his account to provide evidence.
He said he would abandon his presidential ambition if it could be proven that the money was not in the account when he handed over power.
The former governor’s comments come as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Obi positioning himself as one of the major challengers to President Bola Tinubu.
He also addressed the political support that governors may give to presidential candidates, saying governors have the right to support whoever they choose.
“It is politics and their rights to support whoever they want,” Obi said.
He nevertheless called for an election in which voters, rather than political office holders, determine the outcome.
“I’m not urging them to support me. I am only urging them to allow free, fair and credible elections,” he said.
The dispute over Anambra’s financial obligations adds another dimension to the political debate surrounding Obi as the 2027 election approaches.
While Obi maintains that he left office without unpaid obligations to workers, suppliers or contractors whose payments had become due, the Soludo administration’s position centres on loans and other liabilities inherited from previous administrations.
Also read: Anambra still paying Obi and Obiano-era debts, says commissioner for finance
The competing claims are likely to remain a subject of political debate as both sides seek to present their respective records of financial management in Anambra State.
