The Anambra State Government has renewed its dispute with former governor and 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over the financial position of the state when he left office in March 2014.
The government, in a statement titled “Peter Obi’s Debts and Lies: More Questions Than Answers,” issued on Saturday, September 26, said Obi’s recent interview on Arise TV had raised fresh questions about loans, workers’ arrears, contractual obligations and an alleged N2.13 billion ecological fund.
The statement, which followed Obi’s September 24 television appearance, was issued by the state government as its latest response to the former governor’s repeated denial that he left Anambra with outstanding debts or unpaid obligations.
Obi has maintained that he left office without owing salaries, pensions or gratuities and without outstanding payments to contractors whose projects had been duly executed and certified. He also challenged the Anambra Government to produce evidence to the contrary.
But the state government said it had been servicing financial obligations allegedly incurred during previous administrations and questioned why the issue should be regarded as politically motivated when, according to it, the liabilities had continued to be addressed over the years.
Government challenges Obi’s debt position
The government alleged that Obi’s administration contracted external financing for several projects and that substantial balances remained outstanding.
Earlier in September, the state government, through its Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said records from the Debt Management Office showed eight external facilities associated with projects undertaken during Obi’s administration, with an outstanding balance put at about N127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026.
Obi subsequently rejected the characterisation of the facilities as loans personally obtained by him, insisting that he neither borrowed money nor issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his tenure.
In its latest statement, however, the state government argued that the issue was not simply about whether money was available in government accounts at the time of handover, but whether contractual and other financial obligations constituted liabilities inherited by subsequent administrations.
The government specifically cited contracts for 101 roads covering 779 kilometres, alleging that outstanding liabilities on the projects stood at N127 billion at the time Obi left office.
Fresh dispute over workers’ arrears
The government also challenged Obi’s assertion that he left office without salary, pension or gratuity arrears.
According to the state, some obligations owed to workers of defunct government agencies remained unresolved and were subsequently addressed through agreements reached with organised labour.
The controversy intensified after the government released documents relating to N363.381 million in salary arrears involving workers, pensioners and next of kin connected with the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and Environmental Protection Agency.
The documents indicated that the payment formed part of a settlement reached between the government and organised labour.
The government has also alleged that salary arrears owed to primary school teachers under the local government system were not completely cleared during Obi’s tenure.
Where is the N2.13bn ecological fund?
One of the sharpest issues raised in Saturday’s statement was the alleged N2.13 billion ecological fund which Obi had previously said was left in a First Bank account when he handed over power on March 17, 2014.
The state government said Obi had identified the account number, bank and branch in making the claim but alleged that its investigation of the account produced a different picture.
According to the government, First Bank, in a letter dated September 16, 2026, confirmed that the account number cited by Obi was actually an Anambra State IGR Consolidated Account, rather than an ecological fund account.
The government further claimed that the account did not have a balance or inflow of N2.13 billion during its active period.
The state therefore demanded an explanation on the whereabouts of the money Obi said he had left behind.
Obi had earlier maintained that the ecological fund was left intact in the First Bank account with a balance of more than N2.13 billion.
The latest exchange has therefore widened an already heated dispute over what exactly was inherited by successive administrations from Obi’s eight-year tenure.
The competing claims involve debt records, workers’ entitlements, project liabilities, government savings and the disputed ecological fund. While the Anambra Government has presented documents and financial records in support of its position, Obi has continued to reject the allegations and has challenged the state to substantiate them.
