By Tony Okafor, Awka
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has insisted that the controversy over the financial records left behind by former governor Peter Obi is not political, but a matter of facts and accountability.
The state government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, said it was responding to Obi’s challenge that anyone should prove that his administration left behind debts, unpaid salaries or pension arrears when he handed over power in 2014.
The government alleged that Obi’s administration signed eight IDA/World Bank loan facilities totalling $123.77 million, with an outstanding balance of $92.35 million, equivalent to about N127.37 billion, as at June 30, 2026.
It also alleged that more than 700 workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation were owed salaries, pensions and gratuities, adding that the Soludo administration had so far paid about N1.2 billion under a settlement reached with the workers.
The Soludo administration further disputed Obi’s claim that he left about $150 million in savings, arguing that assets or savings could not cancel liabilities which ought to have been disclosed in a government’s handover records.
It alleged that liabilities on 101 roads covering 779 kilometres were also omitted from the handover document. The government equally questioned the whereabouts of the N2.13 billion Ecological Fund which Obi said he left in a First Bank account.
Obi, however, has rejected the allegations, maintaining that he did not borrow money or issue bonds for Anambra during his tenure.
He argued that the figures being presented by the state government involve multilateral development financing and that the distinction must be made between approved facilities, amounts actually drawn and outstanding balances.
He also maintained that he left office without owing salaries, pensions or verified debts to contractors and suppliers.
The former governor further defended his record of savings, saying he left more than $150 million in state funds and investments and that the money could have generated substantial interest if preserved.
Obi has also cited the then Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, whom he said publicly acknowledged that Obi had not approached the DMO for a loan facility during his tenure.
The dispute therefore remains centred on the interpretation of Anambra’s financial position at the March 2014 handover.
While the Soludo administration says Obi left substantial liabilities which successive governments have continued to service, Obi insists that the claims misrepresent his financial record and confuse development financing with debts personally incurred by his administration.
