The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has called on the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind outstanding debt obligations.
In a statement issued on Monday by its spokesman, Dele Alake, the APC campaign council said Obi should honour his reported pledge to quit the presidential contest if evidence emerged that his administration left liabilities in Anambra State.
The council said the latest disclosures by the state government had raised questions about Obi’s long-standing portrayal of his tenure as governor between 2006 and 2014 as one marked by fiscal prudence and no outstanding liabilities.
The Anambra State Government had said Obi’s administration contracted $123.77 million in external loans through eight facilities, with an outstanding balance of $92.35 million, equivalent to about N127.4 billion, as of June 30, 2026. The state said the figures were based on the latest debt records attributed to the Debt Management Office.
According to the state government, the loans financed projects in areas including malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development and agricultural development, with successive administrations continuing to service the obligations.
Obi has rejected the allegations, maintaining that he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or properly processed obligations to contractors and suppliers.
The APC council argued that the loan records contradicted what it described as Obi’s image of having left Anambra without debt.
“Borrowing is not injudicious if used for development. But for a man who prides himself on being austere and has frequently claimed he left the state with a clean bill of health, the revelations confirmed what has long been held,” it said.
The campaign council also cited the Anambra government’s claim that about $4.05 billion was spent during Obi’s eight years in office. The state said the figure was derived by converting audited expenditures during the period using the average official exchange rates applicable at the time.
Alake further accused Obi’s administration of leaving salary and other obligations involving workers of the Anambra Water Corporation. The council cited a purported April 25, 2006 memo from Obi’s then Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, appealing for approval of the corporation workers’ N15 million monthly salary.
“Since it is your excellency’s unchanging desire to achieve a better future for our children and children’s children, please, Sir, bear in mind that officials of the Water Corporation also have children who are looking to your compassionate leadership,” the memo quoted by the campaign council read.
“The President listens with compassion to your appeals on behalf of the children of Anambra. I am 200 per cent sure that you will hearken to the cries of the children whose parents work for the Water Corporation and end their ordeal,” it added.
The APC council claimed Obi had pledged during his governorship campaign to resign if workers were not paid as and when due, and argued that the alleged arrears contradicted that position.
The campaign organisation also criticised Obi over what it described as a recent solidarity visit to an individual facing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, although it did not identify the person.
It urged the former governor to directly address the financial records released by the Anambra State Government.
“Indeed, if Peter Obi has any honour, he must resign from the 2027 presidential race forthwith, in keeping with his promise to end his run if it is proven that his administration left behind liabilities in Anambra,” Alake said.
The Anambra government has said the dispute is not about whether governments can borrow for development, but whether Obi’s administration left loan obligations that subsequent administrations have continued to service.
Obi, however, continues to dispute the state government’s characterisation of his financial record, saying he settled all obligations due before leaving office in March 2014.
