Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, has challenged the state government to clarify its claim that his administration left behind multilateral development loans amounting to $123.77m.
Obi, in a statement on the Anambra debt controversy, urged Nigerians and political leaders to focus on the economic difficulties facing the country rather than what he described as unnecessary political distractions.
He also said he had no disagreement with the state’s incumbent governor, Chukwuma Soludo, stressing that he was not interested in contesting for the governorship of any state.
“I wish to assure the public that I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria. I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended,” Obi said.
He appealed to governors to support their preferred presidential candidates while allowing other candidates and political contenders to campaign freely in their respective states.
According to him, the electorate should ultimately be allowed to decide who would govern them.
On the controversy over multilateral funding described as “debt owed by Peter Obi” in Anambra, the former governor said he did not obtain any loan or issue any bond on behalf of the state during his tenure.
Obi recalled that the then Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, had described him at his farewell ceremony as the only governor during his 10-year tenure who did not approach him for a loan facility.
He further said that when he left office on March 17, 2014, the state government had no outstanding salaries, gratuities or pensions, adding that it also did not owe contractors or suppliers whose completed works had been verified and certified by the government.
Obi explained that the World Bank-related funds in question were concessionary development-support funds secured by the Federal Government for selected states to finance specific development programmes.
He said the repayment of such facilities was structured over periods ranging from 25 to 30 years.
The former governor said the Anambra Government should distinguish between the total amount approved for a multiyear development programme, the amount actually drawn by the state during his tenure and the outstanding balance at the time he handed over power.
He alleged that the state government had combined the different categories and presented the resulting figure of $123.77m as loans left behind by his administration.
“That is an incorrect application of public-sector accounting,” Obi said.
He explained that the eight facilities referenced by the state government were primarily World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development development programmes negotiated by the Federal Government, with participating states accessing the funds through subsidiary arrangements.
According to him, the facilities were not conventional commercial loans personally secured by him while he was governor.
He, however, acknowledged that Anambra had repayment obligations under the programmes, stressing that each facility should be assessed based on its approval, effectiveness, drawdown and repayment history.
Obi said the figures cited by the Anambra Government appeared inconsistent with records published by the DMO.
He said the state government claimed that the original facilities amounted to approximately $123.77m, with $92.35m still outstanding as of June 2026.
However, according to Obi, DMO records showed that Anambra’s total external debt stood at about $18m when he assumed office in March 2006, approximately $30m in March 2014 when he left office, and about $45.15m as of December 31, 2014, nine months after his departure.
He consequently asked the Anambra State Government to explain how the state could have inherited $123.77m from his administration when, according to the DMO figures he cited, its recorded external debt was about $30m when he left office.
“The Anambra State Government must therefore clarify how a state whose recorded external debt was about US$30 million in March 2014 and US$45.15 million in December 2014 could supposedly have inherited US$123.77 million from Peter Obi, who left office in March of that same year,” he said.
