$155m Left Behind, $750m Liabilities: Anambra Govt Opens Fresh Obi Files

$155m Left Behind, $750m Liabilities: Anambra Govt Opens Fresh Obi Files

The Anambra State Government has acknowledged that former Governor Peter Obi left about $155 million in foreign-currency investments when he handed over power in 2014, while maintaining that his administration also left substantial financial commitments, including liabilities associated with road projects.

The fresh disclosure has deepened the continuing disagreement between Obi and the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo over the financial position of Anambra State when Obi left office.

The dispute centres on how the state’s assets, debts, development financing and outstanding project commitments should be calculated and attributed.

The Anambra Government recently released details of eight external financing facilities linked to development projects undertaken during the Obi administration.

According to the figures cited by the government, the facilities had a combined contracted value of about $123.77 million, with approximately $92.35 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026.

Obi has disputed the description of the facilities as conventional loans incurred by his administration.

The former governor has maintained that he did not borrow commercially or issue bonds during his tenure and that several of the facilities were concessionary development programmes arranged through the Federal Government and international development institutions.

Obi has also repeatedly pointed to the $155 million in foreign investments he said he left for his successor.

He argued that the funds constituted a significant financial asset of the state and should be considered when assessing the financial position of Anambra at the end of his administration.

According to Obi, the investments could also have generated substantial returns if they had remained invested.

The former governor has therefore challenged the presentation of the outstanding financing facilities as simply “debts left by Peter Obi”, insisting that the distinction between approved facilities, actual drawdowns and outstanding balances must be properly established.

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The Anambra Government, however, says the financial commitments inherited from the Obi administration went beyond the external financing facilities.

It has put the value of liabilities associated with road contracts and other project commitments at about $750 million.

The figure includes obligations connected to road projects awarded during the period, with the government maintaining that subsequent administrations had to contend with unpaid commitments arising from projects initiated under Obi.

The issue of inherited road liabilities has featured in previous exchanges between former Anambra governors.

Former Governor Willie Obiano, who succeeded Obi in 2014, had previously alleged that he inherited 101 road projects from the Obi administration and substantial financial obligations attached to them.

Obiano said at the time that his administration subsequently completed a number of the projects.

The latest dispute has, however, brought the issue back into focus as the Soludo administration seeks to establish its own account of the state’s financial position over successive administrations.

The controversy is complicated by the distinction between cash and investments held by the state and liabilities arising from projects and financing arrangements.

While Obi’s supporters have pointed to the foreign investments as evidence of the assets he left behind, the current administration has argued that the existence of those investments does not eliminate outstanding contractual or financing obligations.

The government has also released records relating to inherited salary arrears involving workers, pensioners and other beneficiaries of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA).

The records reportedly show an obligation of about N363.38 million, with the state government saying it had been addressing the arrears under an agreement reached with the affected workers.

Obi has consistently maintained that his administration left office after settling salaries, pensions and other verified obligations that were due and certified.

He has also challenged successive administrations to provide documentary evidence for liabilities being attributed to his tenure and to clearly distinguish between obligations that were incurred, amounts actually paid and balances that remained outstanding.

At the centre of the disagreement is therefore not simply whether Anambra had assets or liabilities when Obi left office, but how those assets and obligations should be valued and classified.

The state government’s figures and Obi’s account present different interpretations of the financial records from the period, making the documentation surrounding the $155 million investments, the $123.77 million external financing facilities and the alleged $750 million project liabilities central to resolving the dispute.

The latest development is expected to keep the debate over Peter Obi’s administration, Anambra State’s debt profile and inherited liabilities alive as both sides continue to rely on financial records and handover documents to support their positions.

$155m Left Behind, $750m Liabilities: Anambra Govt Opens Fresh Obi Files