RismadarVoice Reporters
September 17, 2026
The Anambra State Government has alleged that eight external loans linked to the administration of former Governor Peter Obi had an outstanding balance equivalent to about ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, a claim Obi has disputed as controversy over the state’s past financial obligations intensifies.
Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor, said the government based its position on debt records showing that Obi’s administration contracted external loans totalling about $123.77 million for projects covering areas including healthcare, education, erosion control and agriculture.
According to figures released by the state, approximately $92.35 million remained outstanding as of June 30, which it valued at about ₦127.4 billion using the applicable official exchange rate.
The government said it continues to service the loans and also alleged that some salary, pension and gratuity liabilities remained unresolved after Obi left office in March 2014.
OBI DISPUTES CLAIMS
Obi has rejected the allegations, maintaining that his administration handed over without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or payments owed to contractors for completed and certified projects.
The former governor said his administration had cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears before leaving office. He also disputed claims surrounding an ecological fund, saying more than ₦2 billion received shortly before the end of his tenure was left in a bank account for his successor.
The Anambra Government challenged that account, saying the bank account cited by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account and that records obtained by the government did not show the ecological fund balance claimed by the former governor.
Obi’s media team said former officials of his administration were preparing a detailed response to the allegations.
The dispute has assumed greater political significance because Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, had said he would reconsider his 2027 campaign if evidence established that he left the state with the liabilities he denied.
Both sides continue to present conflicting accounts of Anambra’s finances during and immediately after Obi’s administration.
