Category: News

Precious Nwonu, Enugu

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has challenged the Anambra State Government to provide evidence that his administration left behind unpaid debts, salaries, pensions and contractor liabilities when he left office as governor.

Obi, who governed the state from 2006 to 2013, made the challenge in a statement posted on his social media account while responding to claims concerning the financial obligations inherited by successive administrations.

He said his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears before leaving office and maintained that there were no outstanding salaries, pensions or gratuities at the point of handover.

Obi also said contractors whose projects had been completed and certified were paid before his administration left office.

Addressing the controversy surrounding an alleged N2 billion ecological fund, the former governor said the money was released about three months before the end of his tenure to address the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.

He claimed that he deliberately left the funds untouched for the incoming administration because they were earmarked for a specific project.

According to Obi, more than N2.13 billion remained in a First Bank account he identified as the account where the ecological funds were kept.

He further said the money was separate from the more than N75 billion in savings which he claimed his administration left for its successor.

“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi said.

The Anambra State Government, however, disputed Obi’s account in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor.

The state government said eight external loans obtained during or inherited into Obi’s administration still had an outstanding balance of $92.35 million, which it valued at N127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026.

It said the loans were connected to projects in areas including healthcare, education, malaria control, erosion management and community development, and that the current administration was servicing the outstanding obligations.

The government also disputed Obi’s claim that he left office without salary, pension or gratuity arrears, saying the current administration had inherited and cleared about N22 billion in gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers.

It further alleged that salary arrears involving workers of the former Anambra State Water Corporation remained unresolved, while some primary school teachers had outstanding salary, pension and gratuity arrears.

The state government also challenged Obi’s claim concerning the N2.13 billion ecological fund.

According to Mefor, a certified statement of the First Bank account cited by Obi showed no evidence that the alleged amount had ever been deposited into the account.

The commissioner said the account was an internally generated revenue consolidated account rather than an ecological fund account, and challenged Obi to explain where the money was kept if it was not in the account he identified.

The latest exchange has renewed debate over the financial position of Anambra at the end of Obi’s tenure, with both sides presenting conflicting accounts of the state’s debts, arrears and funds left for subsequent administrations.

### Obi opens up academic records

In a separate development, Obi said he had no objection to legitimate scrutiny of his academic records.

The NDC presidential candidate said he had authorised the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and other institutions he attended to release his academic records, subject to applicable laws and institutional procedures.

He said the records could include his certificates, admission documents and other official academic information relating to his studies.

Obi said candidates seeking public office should be prepared to subject their qualifications and records to legitimate scrutiny, describing transparency and accountability as important to public confidence.

“I have absolutely no objection to the release of these records,” he said.

He also challenged other presidential candidates to make their educational qualifications and relevant academic records available for legitimate public examination.

### Obi camp questions reported Tinubu endorsement

Meanwhile, the Peter Obi Media Office has raised concerns over reports that about 600 university academics endorsed President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Idris Zekeri Jnr., the media office said the reported endorsement raised questions because university academics have previously been recruited by the Independent National Electoral Commission for electoral duties, including as returning and collation officers.

The group argued that academics who publicly support a presidential candidate could face questions about perceived impartiality if subsequently appointed to sensitive electoral positions.

It urged INEC to identify academics involved in political endorsements and consider excluding them from sensitive electoral assignments in 2027.

The media office also called on INEC to publish the names of prospective returning and collation officers ahead of elections, saying this would allow political parties, civil society groups and members of the public to scrutinise potential conflicts of interest.

The reported endorsement and the allegations raised by Obi’s media office remain claims by the political campaign, rather than an established finding that any electoral process has been compromised.