The Anambra State Government has hit back at former governor and Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi over his claim that he left office in March 2014 without outstanding debts or other financial liabilities.
In a statement on Wednesday, Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, described Obi’s claims about the state’s debt profile as “wild” and “verifiably false.”
The government said eight external loans obtained during or inherited into Obi’s administration were still outstanding, with a combined balance of $92.35 million, put at N127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026. The original value of the loans was about $123.77 million.
The loans covered projects including malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development and Fadama development. One $48.33 million Malaria Control Booster Project loan had $37.34 million outstanding, while a $37.89 million Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project loan had $34.86 million unpaid.
The state said the current administration was servicing the debts.
“We have no time to join issues. We will simply state the facts here for the records,” Mefor said.
Obi had earlier denied owing salaries, pensions, gratuities or contractors for certified projects. He said his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears, adding, “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
The government also said it inherited and cleared about N22 billion in gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government workers and teachers.
It claimed salary arrears owed to workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation were not settled under Obi and were now being paid in three instalments. Two instalments have already been paid.
Mefor further said 16 months of salary arrears owed to some primary school teachers were verified under Obi, but only five months were paid.
“This administration has set up a committee headed by the Head of Service to finalise a new verification for us to pay,” he said.
“So, Your Excellency, you owed salaries, pensions and gratuities. Many of these people are still alive and can testify,” Mefor said.
“It is not good to speak loudly without facts or with fabricated figures.”
The government also rejected Obi’s claim that he left N2.13 billion in a First Bank account as an ecological fund for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
Obi had said he deliberately left the money untouched because it was meant for the project and because “government is a continuum.”
But Mefor said a certified statement showed no such deposit or balance.
“First, the account is an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Consolidated Revenue Account, and NOT an ecological fund account,” he said.
“Second, from 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount—whether as inflow or balance—in the account.”
He asked Obi to explain where the money was kept.
The government also disputed Obi’s claim that he left more than N75 billion in savings, calling it “nebulous creative accounting,” without providing a detailed breakdown.
The latest clash has revived the debate over Obi’s financial record before he handed power to Willie Obiano in March 2014. The dispute comes as Obi prepares for the 2027 election.
Mefor said the government would not continue arguing over the figures, insisting that public records should determine the facts.
