POLITICS
By Raymond Ken-Mbata
AWKA – The Anambra State Government has accused former governor Peter Obi of failing to disclose outstanding loans and financial liabilities inherited by successive administrations, escalating a dispute over the state’s finances during his eight-year tenure.
The government made the allegations in a statement dated September 26, 2026, following Obi’s appearance on Arise Television, where he reportedly discussed the financial position of the state when he left office in March 2014.
According to the statement, Obi’s administration signed eight loans from the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank, valued at approximately $123.77 million. The government said the outstanding balance stood at $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026, equivalent to about ₦127.37 billion at the exchange rate cited in its statement.
The government maintained that successive administrations had continued to service the loans through deductions from federal allocations. It argued that the existence of savings or investments at the end of Obi’s tenure did not remove the obligation to disclose outstanding liabilities in official handover documents.
The administration also alleged that Obi left unpaid salary, pension and gratuity obligations involving more than 700 workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation. It said a settlement reached in February 2024 amounted to approximately ₦1.56 billion, of which about ₦1.20 billion had been paid at the time of the statement.
The government further raised questions about pension arrears owed to primary school teachers and disputed the former governor’s presentation of assets and financial balances in his handover documents. It argued that some projects listed as assets were incomplete and that certain expected federal refunds had not been received before the change of administration.
Another major issue raised concerned an alleged ₦2.13 billion Ecological Fund balance that Obi reportedly said he left in a First Bank account. The state government claimed that correspondence from the bank identified the account as an internally generated revenue account and did not show the reported balance.
It called on Obi to explain the whereabouts of the funds, while maintaining that its response was prompted by his public challenge to anyone who could prove that his administration had left debts.
The dispute has brought renewed attention to questions of public accountability, financial disclosure and the interpretation of government assets and liabilities. However, the allegations contained in the state government’s statement have not been independently established by this report, and Obi’s full response to the specific claims was not included in the material provided.
A balanced assessment would require the relevant loan agreements, debt records, court documents, bank correspondence and Obi’s response to be examined before definitive conclusions can be reached.