Peter Obi says Anambra gave him “only insults” since he left office, amid a renewed dispute with Governor Soludo over debts and savings
Former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi has accused the state government of offering him little recognition since he left office in 2014, saying the only things he has received are “insults and accusations”.
Also read: 2027: Peter Obi vows to remain in charge if elected
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, made the remark in a viral video while responding to the continuing criticism of his record as governor by the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
The former governor said he had not received even a sachet of water or a Christmas card from the state government since leaving office, despite what he described as his efforts to leave Anambra in a stronger financial position.
“The least I can get is a little bit of support in what I’m doing,” Obi said.
“I left Anambra State 13 years as governor without Anambra State buying me a sachet of pure water, not even sending me a Christmas card, yet I have never had peace.”
His comments come amid a renewed political and financial dispute between him and the Soludo administration over loans, savings and other financial obligations associated with his eight-year tenure.
Obi served as Anambra governor from 2006 to 2014, although his tenure was interrupted by his impeachment in November 2006 and the brief administrations that followed.
He returned to office in February 2007 after his impeachment was overturned and later completed his second term before handing over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014.
The latest dispute began after Anambra Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, said the Soludo administration was still servicing loans inherited from previous governments, including those incurred during Obi’s tenure.
The commissioner said the current administration had not obtained any commercial bank loan since taking office but continued to meet repayment obligations on inherited debts.
Obi rejected the suggestion that he left Anambra indebted.
He has repeatedly maintained that he left office without owing salaries, pensions, contractors or suppliers whose claims had been properly processed.
He also challenged the state government to identify anyone he personally owed when he left office.
At one point, Obi said he would end his 2027 presidential campaign if the Anambra government could prove that he left debts behind.
The Anambra government subsequently released documents and loan records which it said showed that Obi’s administration had left eight external borrowings.
The state said the outstanding balance of those loans stood at about N127.4bn as of June 30, 2026, using the official exchange rate.
The government has also raised questions over unpaid obligations, including salary arrears, while arguing that borrowing for projects such as erosion control, healthcare and education could be justified where the funds were properly applied.
Obi, however, has countered that the state’s debt argument overlooks the savings he says he left behind.
The former governor has repeatedly claimed that his administration left about $150m in state funds spread across three commercial banks, alongside other savings.
He has argued that even if the state’s claims about outstanding loans were accepted, the funds left behind would have been sufficient to offset the liabilities.
He repeated that argument in his latest remarks.
“Even for saving money that I would have stolen, at least anybody would not say that I did not save $150 million but the only thank you that I get for it has been insults and accusations,” Obi said.
The $150m claim has itself become part of the controversy.
While the Anambra government has acknowledged that Obi saved money during his tenure, it disputes his interpretation of what those savings mean for the state’s debt position.
In a recent response, the state argued that savings and liabilities are separate items in public accounting and questioned whether the funds remained intact after Obi left office.
The government has also challenged the former governor’s account of the funds, including questions surrounding the balances in accounts he identified as state investments.
In September, the state said a bank letter showed that the balance in one account at the time Obi left office was not close to the figure he had publicly cited.
The dispute has therefore evolved beyond a disagreement over whether Anambra borrowed money.
At its heart is a broader argument over how Obi’s financial record as governor should be assessed, whether the loans attributed to his administration should be regarded as liabilities left for successors, and how the savings he says he accumulated should be treated in assessing the state’s overall financial position.
The political dimension has also become more pronounced as Obi prepares for the 2027 presidential election.
His confrontation with Soludo is particularly significant because both men are prominent Anambra political figures, while Soludo’s administration has continued to publicly challenge aspects of Obi’s record in office.
Obi, for his part, has argued that his record should be judged by what he left behind rather than by allegations made years after his departure.
The former governor also pointed to what he described as the absence of personal benefit from his service to the state, suggesting that even the financial savings credited to his administration have not earned him appreciation.
“I left over $150 million that was earning about $10 million annually,” Obi had previously said while defending his position on the debt controversy.
The Anambra government has disputed his interpretation, maintaining that the existence of savings does not automatically cancel out legally recognised liabilities.
As the argument continues, neither side appears willing to concede ground.
Obi insists he left Anambra financially stronger and without the debts being attributed to him, while the Soludo administration says official records show that the state inherited outstanding obligations from previous administrations.
Also read: 2027: Peter Obi vows to remain in charge if elected
For now, the latest exchange has added another chapter to the increasingly public Obi-Soludo political battle, with the former governor turning the dispute into an appeal for recognition while the state government continues to defend its account of Anambra’s finances.
