The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has challenged the Anambra State Government to produce evidence contradicting his account of the state’s finances when he left office in 2014, declaring that he would stop campaigning if proved wrong.
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Obi, who governed Anambra State between 2006 and 2014, issued the challenge while responding to claims by the state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, that deductions were still being made from the state’s monthly allocation to repay loans inherited from previous administrations, including those of Obi and his successor, Willie Obiano.
Okafor made the claim during an appearance on the Voice of Ndi Anambra podcast. He said the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had not borrowed from any commercial bank since assuming office but continued to service financial obligations inherited from earlier governments.
According to the commissioner, substantial deductions were being made from Anambra’s Federation Account Allocation Committee receipts because of loans obtained by previous administrations.
“It’s on record that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” Okafor said.
He added that the inherited loans included obligations incurred during the administrations of Obi and Obiano and that some repayments were deducted directly from Anambra’s federal allocation.
Okafor said the Soludo administration had reduced the state’s debt burden by more than 83 per cent and cleared several inherited domestic obligations, including unpaid contracts, gratuities and pension arrears.
He explained that some outstanding external debts were tied to loans obtained from institutions such as the World Bank, with repayment deductions made automatically from the state’s federal allocations.
Responding, Obi denied leaving outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or payments owed to suppliers and contractors whose work had been completed and whose documents had been processed.
“As at the day I left office, I was not owing any salary, pension or gratuity that Anambra State Government was 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. I wasn’t owing any contractor.”
The former governor also addressed the status of an ecological fund which, according to him, had a balance of approximately ₦2.1 billion when he handed over to Obiano on March 17, 2014.
Obi said the money, received from the Federal Government about three months before the expiration of his tenure, was kept in an account at a First Bank branch located at Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
He maintained that the fund was earmarked for a particular erosion-control project and was consequently not included among the unrestricted funds he publicly claimed to have left for the incoming administration.
“The day I left office, I had an account in First Bank of Nigeria, a branch in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, an ecological fund account with a balance of about ₦2.1 billion,” he said.
“I had it in the bank, and it is not included in the money I left, reason being that it was dedicated specifically for a particular erosion project that was supposed to be ongoing.”
Obi said members of his administration had suggested spending the fund before the end of his tenure, but he rejected the proposal because government was a continuum and he wanted the incoming administration to succeed.
He offered to disclose the account number and challenged the government to examine the banking records.
“I say it again: if you go to the account, I’m going to give you the account number. I have given you the bank and the branch. If you see anything contrary to the day I left office, I will stop campaigning,” Obi declared.
Obi’s media aide, Valentine Obienyem, subsequently identified the disputed account as the Ecological Funds/IGR Consolidated Account and claimed it contained ₦2,139,951,400 as of March 17, 2014.
Obienyem maintained that the money was an ecological intervention allocation for erosion control in Ekwulobia, rather than a loan obtained and spent by the Obi administration.
The controversy involves two related but distinct claims. The Anambra Government maintains that the state is still servicing loans traceable to previous administrations, while Obi insists that he cleared all obligations that were due when he left office and specifically claims that the ₦2.1 billion ecological fund remained intact.
The existence of money in an earmarked account at the time of handover would not, by itself, conclusively establish that the state had no other long-term loan obligations. Similarly, continuing deductions from the state’s allocation would require documentary evidence identifying when each loan was contracted, its purpose, tenure, outstanding balance and the administration responsible for it.
The competing claims can therefore be conclusively resolved through official bank statements, audited financial reports, Debt Management Office records, FAAC deduction schedules and the government’s handover documents.
Obi also said Soludo and other governors were entitled to support any presidential candidate of their choice in the 2027 election but urged them to guarantee a free, fair and credible contest.
He maintained that voters, rather than governors, should determine the outcome of the election and promised to accept whatever decision Nigerians make in a credible electoral process.
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