The Anambra State Government has accused former Governor Peter Obi of leaving behind eight external loans with an outstanding balance of N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, escalating the dispute over the financial records of his administration.
The Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, made the claim in a statement issued in Awka on Wednesday in response to Obi’s assertion that he left the state without unpaid loans or other outstanding liabilities. The state said its figures were based on the latest debt position released by the Debt Management Office.
According to Mefor, the eight loans were contracted during Obi’s tenure and had a combined value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 2026. The facilities, the government said, covered projects including malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management and agricultural development.
The commissioner said the state government had continued to make debt-service payments on the loans, insisting that its objection was not to borrowing itself but to Obi’s claim that he left no unpaid obligations.
The government also disputed Obi’s claim that he cleared all inherited salary, pension and gratuity arrears before leaving office.
Mefor alleged that outstanding liabilities remained for retired teachers and former staff of the defunct Water Corporation. He said the current administration had cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears, while also beginning payments towards outstanding Water Corporation salary arrears. He further alleged that Obi’s administration had verified 16 months of salary arrears owed to some primary school teachers but paid only five months.
The commissioner also challenged Obi’s account of an alleged N2.13 billion ecological fund said to have been kept in a First Bank account at the UNIZIK branch in Awka.
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According to Mefor, the account cited by Obi was an “Internally Generated Revenue – Consolidated Revenue Account” rather than an ecological fund account. He said the state had obtained a certified statement showing no N2.13 billion inflow or balance in the account since it was opened in 2011.
The dispute followed Obi’s rejection of earlier claims that his administration left behind unpaid debts. The NDC presidential candidate said he had cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and maintained that, at the point of handover on March 17, 2014, the state had no outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor payments.
He also disputed the government’s account of the ecological fund, saying the money had been released shortly before his departure to address the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis and was left in a First Bank account in Awka.
Obi had challenged the state government to provide evidence contradicting his position, saying he would stop his 2027 presidential campaign if it could establish that he left outstanding debts.
The Anambra government, however, maintained that its records contradicted the former governor’s account and also disputed claims concerning savings allegedly left by his administration.
The controversy has since drawn a response from the Presidency. Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, cited the state government’s claims and asked whether Obi would honour his pledge regarding his 2027 presidential bid.
Obi’s media aide, Idris Zekeri Jnr, said the former governor’s team was preparing a detailed response to the allegations. He described the Presidency’s intervention as unwarranted and said former officials who served under Obi would address the substantive issues raised by the Anambra government.
“This is not a campaign matter. It is a governance issue, and it is going to be addressed,” Zekeri said.