Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi has denied that he left Anambra State in debt, rejecting Governor Charles Soludo’s administration’s claim that he left behind $123.77 million in loans when he handed over as governor in 2014.
Breaking his silence after a bereavement
Obi said he had stayed off the matter while mourning the death of a close friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe, before addressing what he called distractions from Nigeria’s more pressing problems.
“I respectfully urge everyone to concentrate on the existential challenges confronting Nigeria and the hardships endured by its citizens, rather than on the needless distractions that have become widespread in our politics,” he said.
He also denied any rift with Soludo or any other governor.
“I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria,” Obi said, adding that he would not seek the governorship again “even if the Constitution is amended.”
“I did not borrow” — Obi on the debt claim
Obi said the funds in question were concessionary World Bank and IFAD development financing negotiated by the federal government, not commercial loans he personally took out.
“As Governor of Anambra State, I did not approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue a bond on behalf of the state,” he said, citing a former Debt Management Office chief who he said had named him the only governor in a decade who never sought a loan facility.
He said the state owed no unpaid salaries, pensions or certified contractor debts when he left office on 17 March 2014.
Disputed figures
Obi argued that Soludo’s administration had wrongly combined three separate figures — the total approved for a multiyear development programme, what Anambra actually drew during his tenure, and the outstanding balance at handover — into a single debt figure.
“The government has combined these distinct categories, added them together, and described the resulting US$123.77 million as ‘loans left by Peter Obi.’ That is an incorrect application of public-sector accounting,” he said.
He pointed to DMO records he said showed Anambra’s external debt at roughly $18 million in March 2006, about $30 million when he left in March 2014, and $45.15 million by December 2014, nine months after his departure.
“The Anambra State Government must therefore clarify how a state whose recorded external debt was about US30 million in March 2014… could supposedly have inherited US123.77 million from Peter Obi,” he said.
Obi cites $150 million left behind
Obi also said he left more than $150 million in dollar-denominated investments for the state, which he said could have generated roughly $10 million a year and, with compound interest, would be worth about $335 million today.
“Had they retained the funds I left in the bank… the total would be approximately US335 million today,” he said, adding that this could have covered the disputed debt “leaving approximately US242 million to be reinvested.”
He said he would not respond further to the matter.
“I will neither engage nor trade words with anyone regarding my tenure in Anambra State. My focus will now be on issues affecting the suffering Nigerian masses,” Obi said.
