The Anambra State Government has challenged former Governor Peter Obi’s claim that he left the state without outstanding debts, saying eight external loans contracted during his administration still had an outstanding balance of about ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The state government disclosed this in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, in response to Obi’s recent comments on the state’s finances.
According to the government, the figure was derived from the latest report of the Debt Management Office on Anambra’s debt position as of June 2026.
The government said Obi’s administration contracted $123.77 million in external loans, with $92.35 million of the amount still outstanding as of June 30, 2026. The outstanding balance, when converted at the official exchange rate, was put at about ₦127.4 billion.
It said the loans were obtained for projects and programmes covering areas including malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare.
The state government added that it was continuing to make debt-service payments on the obligations, while stressing that its objection was to Obi’s assertion that he left no outstanding loans.
The controversy followed Obi’s rejection of earlier claims that his administration left unpaid liabilities in the state. The former governor maintained that he left office without outstanding obligations for salaries, pensions, gratuities or duly executed and certified contracts.
Obi also said his administration had cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and challenged the Anambra Government to provide evidence to support claims that he left debts behind.
He further disputed the state government’s position concerning an alleged ₦2 billion ecological fund-related liability, saying the money had been released shortly before he left office to address the Oko-Umuchiana erosion crisis.
Responding, the Anambra Government said the account Obi identified as containing the ecological funds was actually an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account and maintained that its records did not show the alleged ₦2 billion balance.
The government also alleged that some salary, pension and gratuity liabilities remained unresolved after Obi left office, including obligations involving former workers of the defunct Water Corporation and some primary school teachers.
The administration said it had since paid about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears and was addressing other outstanding liabilities.
Obi’s camp has said a team comprising officials who served during his tenure was preparing a detailed response to the latest allegations.
The former governor’s media aide, Idris Zekeri Jnr, said the matter was a governance issue rather than a campaign matter and that the former administration’s response would address the claims made by the state government.
The dispute comes as Obi, now the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, prepares for the 2027 presidential election, making his record as Anambra governor a subject of renewed political scrutiny.
