The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has insisted that he did not borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight years as governor.
Obi, who spoke on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, said his administration left office in March 2014 without owing salaries, gratuities, pensions or contractors whose jobs had been executed, certified and verified.
The former governor was responding to questions over recent allegations by the Anambra State Government that his administration left outstanding debt and other liabilities for successive governments to service.
“Let me categorically state again: I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State in the eight years I was in government.
“On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I headed, was not owing any salary, gratuity, or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government.
We were not owing any contractor or supplier who executed his job, certified and verified—not one,” he said.
Obi said the loans being attributed to his administration were not funds he personally obtained from financial institutions, arguing that some of the funding arrangements were supported by the Federal Government.
“I didn’t go to obtain it. But what I’m saying, assuming that your father left you with an inheritance of N100m, and suddenly somebody comes up and says your father is owing N10m. Are you going to go to the market and say your father left you with debts? Unless there’s another thing, you’ll be unfair,” he said.
He explained that the Federal Government had selected Anambra, Ekiti and Bauchi states to receive concessionary multilateral support because of their performance in education.
“There’s a difference between I went to the bank to borrow money, then the Federal Government sees, ‘Oh, this state is doing well in education.’ They selected Anambra, Ekiti, and Bauchi and said, ‘These three states are doing well. Why don’t we give them a concessionary multilateral support to help them?’”
Obi said the funding, which involved the World Bank, was not obtained by Anambra from a commercial bank.
“Yes, and the World Bank,” Obi said, when the interviewer asked whether the funding was a decision by the Federal Government to provide support.
“To support us. Not that we go to the World Bank and say give me this, not that we go to any commercial bank. And to even make it more… when it came, if you look at State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP), you will see that the drawdown was well after I left office.”
He added that even if the entire amount in question had been drawn down, there would have been sufficient funds left to cover it.
“I’ve assumed the whole and said even if that was the case, there was enough left to pay it, and the state will still be at the best financial standing,” he said.
Obi further argued that undrawn funds under a loan facility should not be regarded as debt incurred by the government.
“Even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money—even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money, but I did not spend the money, you cannot call it debt I left.
“Assuming I have gone to the bank and said, ‘Bank A, borrow me loan, Give me a loan of N10 billion. And they gave me a loan of 10 billion Naira, and I only drew down 500 million; you cannot now say I’m owing 10 billion because you know the amount. That’s why I said it is not proper public sector accounting.”
To support his position, Obi cited former Debt Management Office Director-General, Abraham Nwankwo, who he said served for 10 years.
He said Nwankwo had invited him to chair his send-off ceremony and publicly stated that Obi was the only governor in Nigeria who never visited his office to seek approval to borrow money.
“To even confirm this: the then DG… Abraham Nwankwo, who was DG of Debt Management Office, served for 10 years. The day he left office, at his send-off party, he invited me as the chairman, and he announced to everybody at that party that the reason why he made me chairman is that I was the only governor in Nigeria who never came to his office for approval to borrow money,” he said.
The dispute followed recent criticism from the Anambra State Government, which has alleged that Obi left outstanding external loans and other liabilities.
The state government recently challenged Obi to quit the 2027 presidential race, accusing him of leaving outstanding external loans and salary, pension and gratuity arrears, and of breaking earlier pledges on debt and timely payment of workers.
Through its New Media Office and Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, the state alleged that eight external borrowings contracted during Obi’s tenure left an outstanding balance of about N127.4 billion (from $123.77 million) as of June 30, 2026, which continues to be serviced from federal allocations.
It also referenced salary arrears, including at the Water Corporation, and disputed Obi’s claim of leaving more than N2.13 billion in an ecological fund account.
Obi had previously vowed to stop campaigning if it was proven he left the state in debt or with unpaid certified contractor obligations.