The Anambra State Government has disputed former Governor Peter Obi’s claim that his administration left the state without outstanding financial obligations, saying loans linked to his tenure still had a balance of ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The state government made the claim in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, amid an ongoing dispute over Anambra’s debt records and other financial obligations inherited by successive administrations.
Mefor said the government was not interested in debating which administration settled particular arrears but maintained that some liabilities dating back to previous governments remained outstanding.
According to him, the Soludo administration had so far cleared about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers.
He also cited salary arrears involving workers of the defunct Water Corporation, saying the obligations persisted through Obi’s tenure and were eventually addressed by the current administration.
Mefor further said there were outstanding salary, pension and gratuity obligations involving primary school teachers under the local government system, some of which dated back to the administration of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju.
According to the commissioner, the Obi administration had verified and certified 16 months of salary arrears but paid only five months.
“We have been informed that the government of HE Peter Obi verified and certified the debt of 16 months of salary arrears and agreed to pay in tranches.
“It only paid five months and no more until today. This administration has set up a committee headed by the Head of Service to finalise a new verification for us to pay,” he said.
On the loan balance, Mefor said the state government relied on figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), which showed that eight external loans associated with projects under Obi’s administration had an outstanding balance of $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026.
Using the official exchange rate, the government valued the outstanding balance at about ₦127.4 billion.
The loans listed by the government include projects covering malaria control, agricultural development, healthcare, education, erosion and watershed management, community development and agricultural value chains.
The largest outstanding balances, according to the figures released by the state government, were linked to the State Education Programme Investment Project and the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project.
Mefor said the government did not consider borrowing inherently wrong, arguing that loans could be justified when used for projects capable of generating value or improving human capital.
“Evidently, HE Peter Obi borrowed for malaria, erosion control, education, healthcare, etc. So far, this government pays hundreds of millions of Naira every month to service these debts and we are not complaining. It is good for Anambra once we can show the impacts.
“Let’s be clear: hardly any government in the world has zero debt stock. The issue is not whether or not borrowing is good: no business or government can scale significantly without some debt.
“We are convinced that many Ndi Anambra would not have minded if HE Peter Obi had borrowed to fix public schools and hospitals, water schemes, infrastructure, or even to reduce poverty and insecurity.
“Debt, especially for bankable projects and human capital development, is justifiable. So, HE Peter Obi should stop being irked as if all debt is bad”.
The state government’s position contrasts with Obi’s account of his financial record as governor. Obi has maintained that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor obligations and has disputed claims about debts inherited by subsequent administrations.
The dispute remains a matter of competing claims, with the Anambra government citing DMO figures to support its position on the outstanding loans.
Source: Anambra State Government
