Peter Obi Dares Gov Soludo: I End My Presidential Quest If You Provide Proof I Left Anambra Indebted And Not ₦75bn Savings
The 2027 Presidential Candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has vowed to withdraw from the race to lead Nigeria if tangible proof could be provided that he left unpaid debts during his days as Governor of Anambra State, as claimed by the current Chukwuma Soludo-led administration.
Obi said that if his current successor could produce evidence of any outstanding debt left behind by his regime that the state today continued to service, he would end his quest to be Nigerian President.
Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, had claimed that the current administration was still repaying loans borrowed by past governors, and specifically named past governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.
According to Okafor, who made the claims in an interview on the Voice of Ndi Anambra Podcast, subsequently published online by Anambra State New Media, the debt repayment deductions were still being made from monthly federal allocations.
Responding on Tuesday via X Twitter in a piece titled: “Debunking the Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy,” Obi wrote:
“My attention has been drawn to trending claims by the Anambra State Government that my administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities, and unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions. This is completely false.
“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.
“The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis. 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.
“The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion.
“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.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
