The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor Peter Obi’s account of the state’s finances when he left office in 2014, claiming that his administration left outstanding external debt and other financial obligations.
The government said eight external loans incurred under previous administrations remained outstanding when Obi handed over power on March 17, 2014.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation Law Mefor said the original value of the eight loans was about $123.77 million, while the outstanding balance had risen to about $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026.
Using the applicable exchange rate, the state government put the value of the outstanding balance at approximately N127.37 billion.
The government said the loans were associated with projects involving areas including healthcare, education, erosion control, malaria control, Fadama development and community development.
Government disputes Obi’s account
The statement followed Peter Obi’s claim that he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities, certified contractor obligations or other outstanding financial liabilities.
Obi has also challenged the Anambra government to produce evidence supporting its claims.
He said his administration had cleared historical liabilities and maintained that funds relating to an ecological project were deliberately preserved for the purpose for which they had been released.
Obi subsequently said he would stop his 2027 campaign if the state government could establish evidence contradicting his account.
The dispute has therefore developed into competing accounts of Anambra’s financial position at the time of the 2014 transition.
Gratuity claims
The Anambra government also disputed Obi’s claim regarding inherited gratuity obligations.
According to Mefor, the current administration had paid about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government workers and teachers.
The commissioner also said some legacy obligations remained unresolved and cited salary arrears involving workers of the former Water Corporation.
The competing claims have not, by themselves, established which accounting interpretation is ultimately correct. The figures cited by the two sides concern different categories of liabilities, dates and financial obligations.
The latest exchange has intensified scrutiny of the state’s debt history as Obi campaigns for the presidency in 2027.