The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has rejected claims that his administration left outstanding debts for the Anambra State government to repay.
Obi said he did not owe any outstanding salary, pension, gratuity or contractor payment when he left office as governor of the state.
The former governor spoke in a viral video circulating on Monday while responding to remarks by the Anambra State government that it was still servicing loans obtained by previous administrations, including those of Obi and his successor, Willie Obiano.
Obi served as Anambra governor from March 2006 to March 2014. His first tenure was interrupted by an impeachment in November 2006, but he returned to office after the court overturned the impeachment and eventually handed over to Obiano on March 17, 2014.
Speaking on the Voice of Ndi Anambra Podcast posted on Facebook on Monday, Izuchukwu Okafor, the state commissioner for finance, said part of the state’s monthly federal allocation was still being deducted to service loans incurred during the administrations of Obi and Obiano.
Obi, however, disputed the claim, insisting that his administration cleared all payments that were due before he left office.
“As at the day I left office, I was not owing any salary, pension, or gratuity that Anambra state government is supposed to pay,” the NDC presidential candidate said.
“I was not owing any supplier or contractor that had executed his job and his documents processed, not one. The day I left office; I paid what was due to be paid. I wasn’t owing any contractors.”
‘I left N2.1bn ecological fund in First Bank’
The former governor also addressed the ecological fund he said remained in the state government’s account when he handed over power.
According to Obi, the federal government released the money about three months before he left office, and it was earmarked for a specific erosion-control project.
“The day I left office, I had an account in the First Bank of Nigeria, a branch in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, an ecological fund account with a balance of about N2.1 billion,” he recalled.
“I had it in the bank. And it is not included in the money I left, reason being that it was dedicated specifically for a particular erosion project that was supposed to be ongoing.”
Obi said members of his administration had advised that the money be spent before his departure, but he declined, saying he wanted to ensure a smooth transition for his successor.
“My people were saying, ‘let’s expend this money’. But I kept telling them, government is a continuity and I want the person coming after me to succeed,” Obi said.
He challenged anyone who disputed the account balance to provide evidence.
“I say it again, if you go to the account, I’m going to give you the account number. I have given you the bank and the branch. If you see anything contrary to the day I left office, I will stop campaigning,” he said.
Obi also said Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo and other governors were entitled to support any presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 election.
However, he said his main demand was for the election to be free, fair and credible.
“It’s about over 30 governors today supporting the president. And it is politics and their rights to support whoever they want,” Obi said.
“I’m not urging them to support me. I am only urging them to allow free, fair and credible elections. I’m talking to the people because they have only one vote.”
He said the outcome of the election should be determined by voters rather than governors, noting that he did not have any councillor in office when he began his presidential campaign in 2023.
“Today, it is still the same case. The only thing is I am campaigning to be the president of Nigeria,” he said.
“But it is the people of Nigeria that will decide, not the governors, unless they’re going to write the results or rig the election, which is what I’m preaching against.
“Let it be a free, fair and credible election. Whatever the people decide, I will respect it.