Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, rejected claims that his administration left outstanding debts for Anambra State to repay.
Obi made the clarification in a video from the Voice of Ndi Anambra Podcast that circulated on Monday. He responded to statements by the state government about ongoing loan repayments.
Izuchukwu Okafor, the Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, had said the state continued to service loans incurred under previous administrations. These included the tenures of Obi and his successor Willie Obiano. Okafor noted that deductions still came from the state’s monthly federal allocation for those obligations.
Obi governed Anambra State from 2006 to 2014 and handed over power in March 2014. He insisted that his administration settled every due payment before departure.
“As at the day I left office, I was not owing any salary, pension, or gratuity that Anambra state government is supposed to pay,” Obi said. “I was not owing any supplier or contractor that had executed his job and his documents processed, not one. The day I left office; I paid what was due. I wasn’t owing any contractors.”
Obi also addressed an ecological fund that he left behind. He stated that the account held about N2.1 billion at a First Bank branch located at Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
According to him, the Federal Government released the funds roughly three months before his tenure ended. Officials earmarked the money specifically for an ongoing erosion project. Obi said the amount was not part of the general funds he left for routine government expenditure.
He explained that members of his team had urged him to spend the money before leaving office. Instead he preserved it for his successor. “Government is a continuity and I want the person coming after me to succeed,” he said.
Obi challenged anyone who disputed his account to produce contrary evidence.
