The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has refuted the claim by the Anambra State Government that it is still repaying loans incurred by Mr Obi during his time as governor of the state.
Mr Obi, who served as governor of Anambra State from 2010 to 2014, spoke during an interview in Washington, DC, USA.
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A video clip of the interview surfaced on Facebook on Monday.
The claim
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Commissioner for Finance in the state, Izuchukwu Okafor, claimed during a podcast that Governor Charles Soludo’s administration was still repaying loans and other debts incurred by Mr Obi and other past governors of the state.
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Responding to the claim in the now-viral clip, Mr Obi said he was not owing any debt in Anambra when he left office as governor of the state.
“As at the day I left office, I was not owing any salary, pension, or gratuity that Anambra state government is supposed to pay,” he said.
Continuing, the NDC candidate added: “I was not owing any supplier or contractor that had executed his job and his documents processed, not one.
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“The day I left office, I paid what was due to be paid. I wasn’t owing any contractors.”
‘I left N2.1 billion ecological fund’
Mr Obi also responded to an allegation concerning the mismanagement of N2.1 billion ecological funds under his administration.
The former governor stressed that his administration received the funds from the federal government about three months before he left office.
He explained that he kept the funds in the state government’s account for the then-incoming government of Willie Obiano who succeeded him in 2014.
Mr Obi said officials of his government had suggested spending the money before he left office, but he declined because he wanted his successor to have a smooth transition.
“The day I left office, I had an account in the First Bank of Nigeria, a branch in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, an ecological fund account with a balance of about N2.1 billion,” he recalled, promising to release the account details.
“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.”
The former then challenged anyone who found discrepancies in the account balance to produce evidence.
“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 (to be president),” he said.
Soludo’s support for Tinubu
Officially, Mr Soludo is a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, but he has publicly expressed support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress.
Asked to comment on Mr Soludo’s support for Mr Tinubu, Mr Obi stressed that Mr Soludo and other governors have the right to support any presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 polls.
He, however, said he only pleads with them to allow for a free, fair and credible election.
“It’s about over 30 governors today supporting the president. And it is politics and their rights to support whoever they want.
“I’m not urging them to support me. I am only urging them to allow free, fair and credible elections. I’m talking to the people because they (the governors) have only one vote,” he said.
The NDC candidate argued that the outcome of any free and fair election should be determined by voters rather than governors, recalling that he did not have any councillor in power during his 2023 presidential bid.
“Today, it is still the same case. The only thing is I am campaigning to be the president of Nigeria.
“But it is the people of Nigeria that will decide, not the governors, unless they’re going to write the results or rig the election, which is what I’m preaching against,” he said.
“Whatever the people decide, I will respect it.”
‘$150 million’
Mr Obi had repeatedly said he left over $150 million in the treasury of the Anambra State before leaving office as governor in 2014.
The NDC candidate specifically mentioned saving a total of $50 million each in Access, defunct Diamond and Fidelity banks – totalling $150 million – with an interest rate of at least 6.5 per cent.
“If you calculate (all of them) today, the money (invested) would have been about N60 billion,” Mr Obi said in 2022.
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