The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor Peter Obi to tender an unreserved apology to the people of the state following the publication of records it says show that eight external loan facilities were contracted during his administration.
The latest development has further intensified the public dispute over Anambra’s financial position at the end of Obi’s tenure in March 2014.
Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said in a statement on Sunday that the eight facilities had a combined contracted value of $123,771,179.30.
According to the state government, the loan records, including the dates and amounts involved, can be verified through the Debt Management Office (DMO). It further said the outstanding balance on the facilities stood at about $92.35 million, equivalent to approximately ₦127.37 billion, as of June 30, 2026.
Government Says Loans Were Contracted During Obi’s Tenure
Mefor said the facilities were obtained from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank and were signed during Obi’s eight-year tenure.
The commissioner argued that the existence of assets or investments left by an administration does not, by itself, eliminate liabilities associated with outstanding loan facilities.
He also said successive administrations had continued to service the obligations through deductions from the state’s allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
The state government further alleged that Obi’s administration left other liabilities, including salary and pension arrears, although the latest statement did not provide a comprehensive breakdown of all such obligations.
Obi Disputes the Characterisation
Obi has previously rejected the claim that he left Anambra with $123.77 million in debt when he handed over power.
The former governor argued that the figure cited by the state government combines different categories of multilateral development financing and should not be presented as a conventional debt personally obtained by his administration.
He has also challenged the government to distinguish between the total amount approved under multiyear development programmes, the amount actually drawn by Anambra during his tenure and the balance outstanding when he left office.
The competing interpretations have turned the issue into a broader dispute over how Anambra’s historical financial records should be classified and presented.
State Government Demands Apology
Mefor said the government had responded to Obi’s earlier challenge for evidence that his administration left debts behind.
He argued that the records now presented should prompt the former governor to acknowledge the liabilities and apologise to the people of Anambra State and Nigerians.
The demand marks a further escalation in the dispute, which has increasingly moved beyond the size of the liabilities to questions about financial disclosure, accounting classifications and responsibility for obligations inherited by successive administrations.
The controversy remains unresolved publicly, with the Anambra Government maintaining that the records establish outstanding obligations from the Obi era, while Obi disputes the government’s interpretation of those figures.