Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has rejected claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind inherited debts, including a N2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities and unpaid salaries, gratuities and pensions.
Obi, in a statement posted on X on Tuesday, described the allegations as “completely false”, insisting that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears before handing over the state.
He said, “We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over ₦35 billion.”
“At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified,” he added.
The former Anambra governor was responding to claims by the state government that Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration was still servicing loans inherited from previous governments, including those of Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.
Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, had said the Soludo administration had not taken any commercial bank loan since coming into office but had continued to repay debts inherited from previous administrations.
Okafor said deductions were being made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds to service the loans, adding that the government had reduced Anambra’s debt burden by more than 83 per cent.
Obi, however, specifically challenged the claim surrounding the N2 billion ecological fund. He explained that the money was released shortly before he left office to address the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
“The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis,” he said.
“Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project.”
According to Obi, the funds were kept untouched in a First Bank account.
“The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion,” he said.
He also clarified that the ecological fund was separate from the savings he said his administration left behind for the state.
“It is important to stress that funds tied to specific projects or set aside for particular purposes were not even included in the over ₦75 billion in savings we left behind,” Obi said.
The NDC presidential candidate challenged the Anambra State Government and anyone else disputing his account to provide evidence to the contrary.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” he said.
Source: X
