Anambra govt releases loan records, insists Peter Obi left debts

The Anambra State Government has released the state’s loan records, insisting that Peter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), incurred debts during his time as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014.

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The Commissioner for Information in Anambra State, Law Mefor, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

Claims and counter claims

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.

Responding to the claim in a 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.

“The day I left office; I paid what was due to be paid. I wasn’t owing any contractors.”

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In his second response via his Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Obi reiterated that he did not incur any debt as governor but rather saved over N75 billion in the state’s First Bank account number which he provided.

The NDC candidate then challenged Mr Soludo’s administration to prove him otherwise and he would stop his presidential ambition.

What loan records say

But Mr Mefor argued that Mr Obi’s claims were “wild, and verifiably false.”

The commissioner alleged the NDC candidate left behind external loans with outstanding balance standing at N127.37 billion as of 30 June 2026.

The official said the state government decided to release the loan records to “state the facts” because it does not want to join issues with the former governor.

According to the state’s loan records released by the government, Mr Obi’s administration reportedly took eight external loans between 2007 and 2013, amounting to $123.7 million which has now been reduced with an outstanding balance of $92.35 million.

The outstanding balance, according to the government, is equivalent to N127.37 billion as of June 2026.

Records released by the government indicated that the loans were allegedly taken for eight projects, including Malaria Control Booster Project, Third FADAMA Development Project, Health System Development Project II (Add. Fin), State Education Programme Investment Project and Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project.

Mr Mefor claimed the state government arrived at the data by summarising the latest report from the Debt Management Office on Anambra’s debt status.

The commissioner clarified that the state government was not opposed to borrowing as long as it was for bankable projects and human capital development.

“Let’s be clear: hardly any government in the world has zero debt stock. The issue is not whether or not borrowing is good: no business or government can scale significantly without some debt,” he said, arguing that Mr Obi’s alleged borrowings did not solve infrastructure issues in the state.

‘Your claims on salaries, pension arrears false’

Mr Mefor also disputed Mr Obi’s claims that he was not owing any salaries, pensions and gratuities at the time he exited office as governor.

The commissioner claimed the former governor did not clear all inherited arrears of pensions, salaries and gratuities in the state at the time he left office.

“Our administration has cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears of retired state and local government employees and teachers.

“However, there are still legacy arrears which have lingered since the time of Peter Obi,” he said.

Giving instances of uncleared arrears, the official claimed that Mr Obi did not clear arrears of salaries owed to staff of defunct Water Corporation, which lingered throughout his tenure, culminating in court processes and judgments.

“It is this administration that has negotiated a settlement and already paid the first two instalments of the agreed three installmental payments.

“Second, there are arrears of salaries, pensions and gratuities owed to primary school teachers under the local government system during the Gov Mbadinuju’s tenure,” he said.

He claimed that Mr Obi only paid five months of the 16 months of salary arrears despite initially promising to clear the whole arrears.

“So, Your Excellency, you owed salaries, pensions and gratuities.

“Many of these people are still alive and can testify. It is not good to speak loudly without facts or with fabricated figures,” he told the NDC candidate.

READ ALSO; ‘Prove it,’ Nigerians tackle Soludo over debt claims, attacks on Peter Obi

“How can you say that if we show one person that you owed you will quit your 2027 presidential campaign? No, we don’t want you to quit and we wish you well.”

N2.1 billion ecological funds

Mr Mefor further accused Mr Obi of “fabricating lies” about the N2.1 billion ecological funds for Anambra State.

The commissioner said the state government has now obtained a certified print out of the said First Bank account from inception to date.

The official claimed that records from the account showed that it was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, and not an ecological fund account.

“Second, from 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount – whether as inflow or balance – in the account,” he said.

He stressed that the state government does not comment on the “nebulous creative accounting that generated the phantom N75 billion ‘savings’ or investment” which Mr Obi claimed to have made as governor of the state.