The Anambra State government has accused former governor Peter Obi of leaving years of unpaid salaries at the state’s water corporation, saying the Soludo administration is now settling the debt through an out-of-court agreement, though records show the crisis began under an earlier administration.
In a statement titled “The Water Corporation Arrears — Evidence Peter Obi Lied,” the state government said Obi was alerted to the unpaid wages of Water Corporation and ANSEPA staff as far back as 2006 but failed to act throughout his time in office.
“Recall that Mr Peter Obi’s Chief of Staff first drew his attention to the unpaid salaries of the water corporation and ANSEPA staff on the 25th of April, 2006,” the statement said. “All through his eight (8) years in office, he did not pay them.”
A crisis that predates Obi’s tenure
The Anambra State Water Corporation’s decline dates back to the administration of Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju between 1999 and 2003, when unpaid salaries, strikes and neglect caused taps to run dry and operations to collapse.
Successive governments, including those of Chris Ngige and Obi, inherited the resulting debts, legal disputes and decaying infrastructure.
While the core debt originated before Obi took office, the liability continued to accumulate during his tenure, and the matter remained in court, unresolved, when he left office in 2014.
Obi’s administration made partial payments
Obi’s administration paid part of the arrears, including ₦200 million in 2007, and pursued reforms, though the water corporation was legally required to be self-funding. Obi has maintained that regular civil servants, contractors and standard payrolls under his administration were paid up to date, and that he cleared tens of billions of naira in legacy arrears overall while treating self-earning parastatals like the water corporation differently under the law.
Soludo administration says it’s clearing the backlog
The state government said Governor Charles Soludo’s administration has now reached a settlement with the affected workers.
“Fourteen (14) Years after, the Soludo administration entered out of court settlement and is currently clearing the backlog of salaries owed these workers,” the statement read, adding: “Obi knew then. Obi knows now. Obi knows we know. And Obi knows he lied.”
ANN has not independently verified all claims in this report and has not obtained a direct response from Obi or his associates on the Soludo government’s latest statement.
