Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has rejected claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2bn ecological loan, contractor liabilities and unpaid salaries, gratuities and pensions.
Philips News reports that in a statement on X on Tuesday, Obi described the claims as “completely false,” saying his administration had cleared more than ₦35bn in historical gratuities and arrears and handed over the state without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.
The former Anambra governor said, “We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over ₦35 billion.”
“At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified,” he added.
Obi was reacting to claims by the state government that the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo was still servicing debts incurred by previous administrations, including those of Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.
Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, said the Soludo administration had not borrowed from any commercial bank since assuming office but had continued to service inherited loans.
Okafor said deductions were being made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee funds to repay loans obtained by previous administrations, while noting that the government had reduced the state’s debt burden by more than 83 per cent.
However, Obi specifically disputed the claim concerning the ₦2bn ecological fund, explaining that the money was released shortly before he left office for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
“The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis,” he said.
“Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project.”
According to Obi, the money was left untouched in a First Bank account.
“The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion,” he said.
The NDC Presidential candidate also maintained that the money was not part of the savings he claimed his administration left for the state.
“It is important to stress that funds tied to specific projects or set aside for particular purposes were not even included in the over ₦75 billion in savings we left behind,” Obi said.
Meanwhile, PhilipsNews reports that Obi challenged the Anambra State Government or anyone else to produce evidence contradicting his account.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” he said.
