Anambra Govt Demands Unreserved Apology From Peter Obi Over Debt Claims

Anambra Govt Demands Unreserved Apology From Peter Obi Over Debt Claims

The Anambra State Government has demanded an “unreserved apology” from former Governor Peter Obi over his claims that he left the state without outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions or other financial liabilities when he handed over power in March 2014.

The demand was contained in a statement issued on Saturday, September 26, 2026, by the state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, following Obi’s appearance on Arise TV on September 24.

The renewed disagreement centres on the financial position of Anambra at the end of Obi’s eight-year tenure and whether loans, salary arrears, pension obligations and other liabilities attributed to his administration remained outstanding after his departure.

Obi has maintained that he left office without owing salaries, pensions, gratuities or contractors whose projects had been completed, certified and verified. He has also disputed the state government’s characterisation of certain World Bank-related facilities as debts personally incurred by his administration.

However, Mefor, in the latest statement titled “Peter Obi’s Debts and Lies: More Questions Than Answers,” said the former governor’s recent interview did not adequately address documents and records presented by the state government.

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According to the commissioner, the state government’s position is that Obi’s administration contracted eight IDA/World Bank-related facilities which continued to have repayment obligations after he left office.

The government had previously identified facilities including the Malaria Control Booster Project, Third National Fadama Development Project, Health System Development Project II, State Education Programme Investment Project, Community and Social Development Project, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project and Value Chain Development Project. The state said the outstanding balance on the facilities stood at about N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, when converted at the official exchange rate.

Mefor argued that the fact that the facilities were obtained through international development institutions did not mean they were grants, insisting that the state was still responsible for repayment and servicing obligations.

The commissioner also rejected the argument that the value of assets or funds allegedly left behind by Obi could be used to erase the existence of liabilities.

He said a government’s financial position must take account of both assets and liabilities, arguing that the existence of savings or investments did not automatically mean there were no outstanding obligations.

The Anambra government further alleged that liabilities involving workers and pensioners remained after Obi’s administration left office.

Mefor specifically cited workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation, claiming that more than 700 employees had outstanding salary, pension and gratuity issues which subsequently became the subject of legal proceedings.

According to the commissioner, an arbitration process and a later National Industrial Court judgment established liabilities involving the workers, while the current administration entered into an out-of-court settlement in February 2024.

The government said the settlement was valued at N1.56 billion and that about N1.2 billion had so far been paid, with the remaining tranche expected to be settled.

Mefor also referred to pension arrears involving primary school teachers, alleging that 16 months of arrears had been certified during Obi’s administration, but that only five months were paid at the time.

These claims remain part of the dispute between the former governor and the current state administration and have been presented by the government as evidence that financial obligations remained when Obi left office.

Another major point of contention is Obi’s claim that he left more than N2.13 billion in an ecological fund account before handing over power.

The former governor had identified a First Bank account in support of his claim. But the Anambra State Government said it obtained records from the bank which, according to the government, did not support Obi’s description of the account.

Mefor said the account number cited by Obi was actually an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Account belonging to the Anambra State Government and not an ecological fund account.

The commissioner further claimed that a First Bank letter dated September 16, 2026, indicated that the account did not have N2.13 billion as its balance on March 17, 2014, nor did it record such an amount as an inflow during the period examined by the bank.

The government consequently challenged Obi to explain where the N2.13 billion he said he left behind was kept if it was not contained in the account he identified.

The ecological fund dispute is significant because Obi had cited the money as part of the financial resources he said were available to his successor after he left office.

The former governor has, however, continued to reject the broader allegation that he left Anambra with outstanding debts, maintaining that his administration settled inherited obligations and left substantial financial resources and investments.

In his September 24 Arise TV appearance, Obi reportedly maintained that his administration did not borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State and said he left office without owing salaries, gratuities, pensions or contractors whose work had been completed and verified.

The dispute has also revived an earlier challenge attributed to Obi, in which he said he would withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if anyone could establish that he left salary, pension or other debts behind after leaving office.

The Anambra government said it considered the challenge to have placed the issue of Obi’s financial record firmly in the public domain.

Mefor therefore urged the former governor to acknowledge what the government described as documentary evidence and apologise to the people of Anambra State and Nigerians.

“As a responsible government and committed to ethical governance and politics, we remain ready to provide information that advances public interest,” Mefor said in the statement.

“For H.E. Peter Obi, it is a matter of word, character and integrity.”

The commissioner concluded by calling on Obi to “tender an unreserved apology” and move on from the controversy.

The latest exchange represents another escalation in the long-running disagreement between Obi and the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo over the financial records and legacy of the former governor’s administration.

While the Anambra government has cited debt records, bank documents and court-related liabilities in support of its position, Obi has rejected the allegations. The competing claims mean that the underlying financial records, including the relevant loan agreements, audited accounts, handover documents, bank statements and court records, remain central to independently determining the full financial position of the state as of March 17, 2014.

Anambra Govt Demands Unreserved Apology From Peter Obi Over Debt Claims