Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has insisted that he left office in 2014 without owing salaries, pensions or gratuities due to workers, or payments to contractors and suppliers whose completed jobs had been certified and verified.
Obi made the statement during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday while responding to renewed claims about loans and financial liabilities allegedly linked to his tenure as governor.
The former governor also maintained that he did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight years in office, The News Edition reports.
“I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State in the eight years that I was in government,” he said.
Obi said that when he handed over power in March 2014, the state had no outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations that were due for payment by the government.
He also maintained that no contractor or supplier who had completed a project, and whose work had been properly certified and verified, was owed money by his administration.
“On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I served, was not owing any salary, gratuity or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government,” Obi said.
“We were not owing any contractor or supplier who had executed his job, certified and verified. Not one.”
Obi Explains Anambra Loan Dispute
Obi said some of the financial facilities now being attributed to his administration were concessionary funds obtained through Federal Government arrangements and made available for specific development programmes.
He cited the State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP), saying Anambra was among the states selected for concessionary multilateral support because of its performance in education.
He also argued that approved or undrawn facilities should not automatically be treated as debts incurred and spent by his administration.
The Anambra State Government, however, has maintained that loans contracted during previous administrations remain financial liabilities of the state and are still being serviced. The state government has disputed Obi’s characterisation of the obligations and released figures relating to outstanding facilities.
Obi said the disagreement should not be viewed as a personal dispute between him and Governor Chukwuma Soludo, whom he described as the governor of his state.
The former governor also called on state governors to allow presidential candidates to campaign freely ahead of the 2027 election.
He said Nigerians should be allowed to hear from the various candidates and make their own choices at the polls.
Obi urged political leaders to focus on issues affecting Nigerians, particularly the economic difficulties confronting citizens, rather than what he described as unnecessary distractions.