The Anambra State Government and former governor Peter Obi have renewed their dispute over loans allegedly inherited from his administration and the financial assets he reportedly left behind when he handed over power in 2014.
The state government claimed that eight external loan facilities obtained during Obi’s tenure had an outstanding balance of $92.35 million, equivalent to approximately N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The claims were made in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, following Obi’s rejection of earlier allegations that Anambra was still servicing debts inherited from previous administrations.
According to Mefor, the loans were secured for projects covering malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development and agricultural development.
He said the facilities remained outstanding when Obi handed over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014.
The state government listed the loans as including the Malaria Control Booster Project, Third National Fadama Development Project, Health System Development Project II, State Education Programme Investment Project, Community and Social Development Project, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, and Value Chain Development Project.
Mefor said the total contracted value of the facilities was $123.77 million, adding that the state had continued to make debt-service payments on the obligations.
He also estimated the total expenditure of Obi’s eight-year administration at approximately $4.05 billion, based on audited and published expenditures converted using the average official exchange rates applicable during the period.
The commissioner clarified that the government was not opposed to borrowing but argued that loans should be used for productive projects and human capital development.
He alleged that several basic services, including public water schemes, schools and hospitals, remained deficient at the end of Obi’s tenure, while also raising concerns over insecurity and poverty.
Dispute Over N2.1bn Ecological Fund
The state government also challenged Obi’s claim that he left more than N2.1 billion in an ecological fund account for his successor.
Obi had reportedly stated that the Federal Government released the money shortly before he left office for erosion-control work at Oko/Umuchiana, and that he deliberately left the funds untouched for the incoming administration.
Mefor, however, said the state obtained a certified statement from First Bank and found that the account identified by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, rather than an ecological fund account.
He further claimed that records dating back to the account’s opening in 2011 showed no inflow or balance corresponding to the N2.1 billion mentioned by the former governor.
The controversy followed comments by the state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, that deductions were still being made from Anambra’s Federation Account allocation to service loans obtained by previous administrations, including those of Obi and Obiano.
Obi rejected the allegations, maintaining that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or liabilities to contractors whose projects had been completed and certified.
He also said his administration had cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears.
The disagreement is a continuation of a long-running dispute over Anambra’s financial position at the end of Obi’s tenure.
In 2015, the Obiano administration claimed it inherited project liabilities of about N185.1 billion from Obi’s government, with N78.9 billion already paid before the handover and approximately N106.2 billion remaining outstanding. Obi’s representatives disputed the figures and maintained that there were no unpaid contractors.
The Debt Management Office had reported that Anambra’s external debt stood at $30.32 million as of December 31, 2013, alongside domestic debt of about N3.03 billion. However, that earlier figure predates the state government’s current calculation and does not, by itself, establish the N127.4 billion figure now being cited.
The renewed dispute comes as Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, campaigns ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
No comments:
Post a Comment