You’re a liar, Anambra tackles Obi, releases fresh debt details

By Omolade Adegbuyi

Presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress, [NDC] Mr Peter Obi is far from the truth on debts he left behind.

The Anambra State Government has hit back at Peter Obi, over his long standing claims that he left no outstanding debts, salaries or pension arrears when he handed over power as the state governor in 2014

The state government accused Obi of repeatedly making false claims about the financial position of the state under his administration, insisting that records from the Debt Management Office, courts and financial institutions contradicted his assertions.

The Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, made the allegations in a statement issued at the weekend and made available to Irohinoodua.

The statement was titled, “Peter Obi’s Debts and Lies: More Questions Than Answers.”

The statement followed Obi’s recent challenge to the Anambra government to prove that his administration left behind any unpaid debt, salary or other financial obligation.

According to Mefor, “H.E. Peter Obi himself initiated this self-imposed challenge — daring anyone to prove that he left debts.”

He added: “It is only a matter of integrity and character that he owns up to the outcome.”

Mefor said the Soludo administration had been in office for four and a half years without publicly complaining about inherited debts, despite spending billions of naira to service obligations allegedly incurred by previous administrations.

He said the government only responded after Obi challenged anyone to produce evidence that he left debts behind.

On the World Bank loans, the commissioner said Obi’s administration signed eight IDA-World Bank loan agreements during his eight-year tenure, with a combined value of $123,771,179.30.

He said the outstanding balance of the loans stood at $92.35 million, equivalent to N127.37 billion, as of June 30, 2026, according to the Debt Management Office.

Mefor said successive administrations, including the current government, had continued servicing the facilities through monthly deductions from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee revenue

The fact again is that H.E. PETER OBI BORROWED AND LEFT A DEBT of over US$123 million contrary to all his lies about it for 13 years, and the current government is paying billions of Naira in repayment,” he said.

The commissioner dismissed Obi’s argument that he did not personally approach the World Bank or DMO to borrow the money.

“You do not have to ‘go to a bank or DMO’ before your borrowing can be perfected,” Mefor said. “All that is required is for you to sign the loan agreements and your government did.”

The state government also accused Obi of leaving unpaid salary, pension and gratuity obligations.

Mefor claimed that more than 700 workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation were owed salaries and other entitlements.

He said an arbitration panel in 2009 and a 2019 National Industrial Court judgment confirmed the obligations, while the current administration opted for an out-of-court settlement in February 2024.

According to him, the settlement was worth N1.56 billion, out of which N1.19 billion had already been paid.

“We are talking about over N1 billion already paid — arrears owed and left by your government unpaid,” he said.

The commissioner further alleged that 11 months of pension arrears owed to primary school teachers remained outstanding.

He said the arrears were part of 16 months inherited from former governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju, adding that Obi’s administration paid five months and left the remaining 11 months unresolved.

He said: “You cannot make lying a habit and because most people don’t bother to ‘go and verify’, you then elevate it to the audacity to challenge even the government that is quietly paying the debts you left behind.”

Mefor urged Obi to acknowledge the documents presented by the state government and apologise to the people of Anambra State and Nigeria.

“For H.E. Peter Obi, it is a matter of word, character and integrity,” he said.

“We won’t encourage you to honour your pledge to quit your campaign: we wish you well.”