The Anambra State Government said on Monday that the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo continues to repay loans and other debts incurred under previous governors, including Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.
Finance Commissioner Izuchukwu Okafor made the disclosure during a Ndi Anambra podcast released by the state new media team, while outlining the state’s current debt position.
Okafor said the Soludo government had not taken any loans from commercial banks since assuming office but was still meeting obligations inherited from earlier administrations.
“It’s on record, you know, that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” he said.
He explained that monthly deductions were being made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts to service the inherited loans.
“Yes, every month during our FAC meetings, and when you see the schedule of FAC, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” Okafor said.
“These loans were borrowed, you know, during the time of, even, not the immediate predecessor, even during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, His Excellency, the past governors,” he added.
The commissioner said the current administration had reduced the state’s overall debt burden by more than 83 percent and cleared most of the inherited loans.
“But I will also say that Mr Governor has not borrowed a penny. We have been able to manage the debt, the state debt, very well, that we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today. I’ve been able to repay back most of these loans,” he said.
Okafor also disclosed that the government had settled several domestic legacy obligations, including unpaid contracts, gratuity arrears and pension arrears.
“But I will give you an example for our domestic debt, the control, the legacy, what we call legacy debts, you know, the contracts that were not paid, not owing, the gratuity arrears, pension arrears, we’ve been able to clear all that,” he said.
“In terms of, so, our domestic debt as of today is near-zero balance.”
He noted that some external debts, particularly World Bank and other foreign-denominated loans, continued to be deducted automatically from FAAC allocations under existing covenants.
The commissioner said the debt-management approach had created additional fiscal space for the state.
“So, in a nutshell, I’ve been able to, you know, create more fiscal space for Anambra State,” Okafor said. “This administration has been able to create more by paying off, you know, backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi.”
ANN had reported in 2022 that Obi, then the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, said he did not borrow during his time as governor of Anambra State.
Speaking at an Arise TV Town Hall meeting in Abuja, Obi said, “During my time as a former governor, I served for eight eights. You can go to that state you will find that I never borrowed from any financial institution in Nigeria.”
He also said, “I have never borrowed, I served faithfully and I left their money.
