The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has fired back at the Anambra State Government over its claim that his administration left $123.77 million in external debt, demanding clarification on how the figure was arrived at.
Obi made the clarification in a statement posted on his Facebook account on Friday, September 25, 2026, as the dispute between the former governor and the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo over Anambra’s financial obligations continues. The state government has said eight external borrowings linked to projects during Obi’s tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
Obi, who said he had remained silent in recent days because he was mourning his elder brother and friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe, said he had decided to address issues surrounding his eight-year administration.
“I have remained silent over the past few days because I have been grieving the loss of my very dear elder brother and friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe. However, the time has come for me to address some of the matters that have occupied public discussion in recent days,” he said.
He also dismissed any suggestion of a personal disagreement with Soludo, saying his focus was not on returning to governorship but on national issues ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“I wish to assure the public that I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria. I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended,” Obi said.
The former Anambra governor urged state governors to allow political candidates to campaign freely, regardless of their party affiliations, arguing that voters should be allowed to make the final choice.
“Accordingly, I appeal to governors to support whichever presidential candidate they choose while also permitting and assisting other presidential candidates and contenders for other offices to campaign freely and without interruption in their states. Ultimately, voters should be allowed to determine whom they wish to serve them,” he said.
Turning to the debt controversy, Obi categorically denied that he borrowed money or issued a bond on behalf of Anambra State during his tenure.
“As Governor of Anambra State, I did not approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue a bond on behalf of the state,” he said.
Obi recalled that the then Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, had publicly described him at his farewell ceremony as the only governor during Nwankwo’s 10 years in office who had not approached him for a loan facility.
He further maintained that he left office on March 17, 2014, without unpaid salaries, gratuities or pensions, and without outstanding obligations to contractors or suppliers whose completed work had been verified and certified.
“When I left office, the Anambra State Government owed no unpaid salaries, gratuities, or pensions. Neither did it owe any contractor or supplier who had completed work that the government had verified and certified,” he said.
Obi challenged the manner in which the Anambra Government had presented the multilateral development financing associated with projects implemented during his administration.
According to him, the facilities were largely concessionary development-support funds secured by the Federal Government for selected states, with repayment spread over 25 to 30 years.
He said the state government should distinguish between the total amount approved for multiyear development programmes, the amount actually drawn during his tenure and the balance outstanding when he handed over power.
“The government has combined these distinct categories, added them together, and described the resulting US$123.77 million as ‘loans left by Peter Obi.’ That is an incorrect application of public-sector accounting,” Obi said.
He added that the eight facilities cited by the state were primarily World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development development programmes negotiated by the Federal Government and accessed by participating states through subsidiary arrangements.
“They were not conventional commercial loans that I personally secured during my tenure,” he said.
Obi, however, acknowledged that Anambra had repayment responsibilities under the various facilities, stressing that each one should be assessed based on its approval, effectiveness, drawdown and repayment history.
The former governor also questioned the figures he said were contained in Debt Management Office records, arguing that they did not appear to support the state government’s characterization of $123.77 million as debt he left behind.
“The clearest contradiction appears in the government’s own figures,” Obi said.
He claimed that DMO records showed Anambra’s total external debt at approximately $18 million when he assumed office in March 2006, about $30 million when he left office in March 2014, and approximately $45.15 million as of December 31, 2014.
“The Anambra State Government must therefore clarify how a state whose recorded external debt was about US$30 million in March 2014 and US$45.15 million in December 2014 could supposedly have inherited US$123.77 million from Peter Obi, who left office in March of that same year,” he said.
The Anambra Government, however, has maintained that the $123.77 million represents eight external loans contracted during Obi’s administration, with about $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026. The state has also said the loans relate to development projects covering areas including education, healthcare, erosion control and agricultural development.
Obi also turned attention to the financial resources he said he left behind for the state, claiming that more than $150 million representing the dollar component of his investment in Anambra remained in place when he left office.
“On the day I left office, I left more than US$150 million as the dollar component of my investment in Anambra State as governor. I hereby provide documents that can be verified with the various banks,” he said.
He argued that the funds, if retained, could have generated approximately $10 million annually for the state and said that, over 13 years, the returns would have amounted to about $130 million.
“Even if their assertion were accurate—which it is not—that Anambra owed US$123 million, the government could have used the US$10 million generated annually from my savings to reduce the debt. It has now been 13 years since I left office, which would amount to US$130 million. The debt should have been fully settled by now,” Obi said.
He further estimated that the funds, including compound interest and additional income, could have grown to approximately $335 million, arguing that settling the $92.35 million balance cited by the state would still have left about $242 million available for reinvestment.
Obi maintained that he left Anambra in what he described as a strong financial position and stood by his previous assertions about his stewardship of the state.
“Let me reiterate that, when I left office, I left Anambra State in a strong financial position—the strongest of any state in Nigeria—and I stand by that position,” he said.
The NDC presidential candidate said he would not engage in a prolonged exchange over his tenure, insisting that his attention would now remain on the broader challenges confronting Nigerians.
“Through this clarification, I wish to state categorically that I will neither engage nor trade words with anyone regarding my tenure in Anambra State. My focus will now be on issues affecting the suffering Nigerian masses, which is the reason for my presidential ambition,” Obi said.
