Anambra Debt Showdown: Peter Obi, Soludo Lock Horns Over Financial Legacy

An intense political dispute has erupted in Anambra State regarding the public debt records of former Governor Peter Obi, now the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). The Anambra State government, under Governor Charles Soludo, through its Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor, released a press statement titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies,” insisting that Obi left behind significant debts, including domestic loans, unpaid pensions, and gratuities.

The state government’s claims emerged in response to a viral post by Mr. Obi on what he termed “Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy,” which followed statements by the Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, during a podcast. Dr. Mefor accused Obi of making “wild, and verifiably false claims,” asserting the current administration has been spending billions of Naira servicing the debts left by the former governor.

According to the Anambra State government, Peter Obi’s administration (2006-2014) spent approximately $4.05 billion (equivalent to N5.4 trillion at current exchange rates) over eight years. Furthermore, it claimed he contracted US$123.77 million in external debt, for which the current government has paid billions in service payments. As of Obi’s departure on March 17, 2014, the government stated there were still eight different external borrowings, with a total balance of N127.4 billion (or $92.35 million of the original $123.77 million) as of June 30, 2026, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). These loans were allegedly taken for various projects including malaria control, erosion control, education, and healthcare.

The state government also painted a grim picture of Anambra when Obi left office, claiming he left a state without functioning urban or rural water schemes, increasing insecurity, increased poverty, ostensibly dead public schools and hospitals with grossly inadequate personnel. It highlighted that 44% of Anambra’s communities (78 out of 179) lacked public primary schools, and only about 27% of residents patronized public health institutions due to poor quality. The government criticized Obi, stating that while borrowing is justifiable for bankable projects and human capital development, his alleged borrowings did not solve these critical infrastructure and social issues.

Regarding salaries and pensions, Dr. Mefor disputed Obi’s claim that he cleared all inherited arrears. He specifically mentioned unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions owed to retired teachers and staff of the Water Corporation, some of which had lingered throughout Obi’s tenure. The Soludo administration claims to have cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears and negotiated settlements for Water Corporation staff arrears, paying the first two installments. He also pointed out that Obi only paid five months of the 16 months of salary arrears owed to primary school teachers from Governor Mbadinuju’s tenure, despite promises to clear them all.

Peter Obi vehemently denied these allegations. He maintained that upon leaving office, he was not owing any salaries, pensions, gratuities, or contractors for executed jobs. He asserted that he had systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears amounting to over N35 billion. Furthermore, Obi claimed to have saved over N75 billion in the state’s First Bank account, which he provided as Account No. 2018779464.

Concerning the N2.1 billion ecological funds, Obi clarified that his administration received these funds from the federal government about three months before his departure. He stated that he kept the money 100% intact in the aforementioned First Bank account for his successor, Willie Obiano, to handle the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis, despite suggestions from officials to spend it. Obi challenged Governor Soludo’s administration to prove any of his claims false, vowing to quit his 2027 presidential ambition if disproven. In response, Dr. Mefor countered that the provided account was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, not an ecological fund account, and never held such an amount. He also dismissed Obi’s N75 billion “savings” as “nebulous creative accounting.”

The Presidency, through the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dared Peter Obi to quit the 2027 presidential race if his claims of a debt-free Anambra were disproven by the state government’s facts and figures. Onanuga questioned if Obi would follow through on his threat now that the Anambra government had presented its evidence.

The ongoing dispute has also drawn criticism from some Nigerians towards Governor Soludo for his