OBI LEFT ANAMBRA WITH N127.4BN DEBT — ANAMBRA GOVT

• Releases eight loan records, says ex-governor borrowed $123.77m
• Accuses former administration of leaving unpaid pensions, salaries

The Anambra State Government has disclosed that former Governor Peter Obi left the state with eight external loan obligations whose outstanding balance had risen to N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.

The government, citing the latest report of the Debt Management Office, said Obi’s administration contracted approximately $123.77 million in external loans between 2006 and March 2014.

The disclosure, contained in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, directly challenged claims that Obi left Anambra without debt.

The statement, titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies,” followed recent comments by Obi reportedly dismissing claims over debts incurred during his tenure as “phantom debts” and an “ecological loan fallacy.”

According to the state government, the eight loans were obtained for programmes and projects including malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare.

It stressed, however, that borrowing itself was not necessarily detrimental, arguing that loans deployed to productive projects could contribute to development.

The government said successive administrations had continued to service the inherited obligations, with the debt repayments constituting part of the state’s financial commitments.

It also claimed that audited and published expenditure records showed that Obi’s administration spent about $4.05 billion during its eight-year tenure.

The government further alleged that Obi left behind significant challenges in education, healthcare, water supply, infrastructure and social services.

It claimed that 78 of Anambra’s 179 communities lacked public primary schools at the time, while only about 27 per cent of residents patronised public health facilities.

The administration also accused the former governor of leaving unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities involving retired teachers and former employees of the state Water Corporation.

The government rejected Obi’s reported claim that he cleared all inherited arrears, describing the assertion as false.

It nevertheless said it would not reopen the historical dispute over which previous administration was responsible for particular arrears.

The Soludo administration said the release was intended to place debt records before the public and provide what it described as verifiable facts on Anambra’s financial position, rather than engage in political propaganda.