Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has dismissed claims that his administration left debts and unpaid obligations in Anambra State, insisting that salaries, pensions, gratuities and contractor payments were fully settled before he left office.
Obi made the clarification in a statement posted on X on Tuesday while responding to comments by the Anambra State Government regarding debts being serviced by the current administration.
The former Anambra governor described allegations that he left behind liabilities, including a ₦2 billion ecological fund loan, as false, maintaining that his administration handed over the state without outstanding financial obligations.
According to him, his government cleared substantial historical arrears inherited from previous administrations.
“We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over ₦35 billion.”
“At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified,” he added.
The controversy followed remarks by the Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, who stated that the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had continued servicing loans inherited from previous governments, including those of Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.
Okafor said deductions were still being made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee allocations to repay outstanding loans, adding that the Soludo administration had significantly reduced the state’s debt profile since assuming office.
Responding to the claims, Obi specifically addressed the issue of the ₦2 billion ecological fund, explaining that the money was released shortly before the end of his tenure to tackle the Oko/Umuchiana erosion challenge.
“The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis,” he said.
“Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project.”
Obi stated that the funds were left untouched in a First Bank account and were available for the incoming administration to utilise for the designated project.
“The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion,” he said.
He further argued that funds earmarked for specific projects were not included in the more than ₦75 billion in savings his administration claimed to have left behind at the end of his tenure.
“It is important to stress that funds tied to specific projects or set aside for particular purposes were not even included in the over ₦75 billion in savings we left behind,” Obi said.
The former governor challenged the Anambra State Government and other critics to present evidence contradicting his claims, declaring, “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
