Obi, in a video seen on social media, made the response to claims by the Anambra State Government that it is still servicing loans obtained by previous administrations, including his tenure and that of former Governor Willie Obiano.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, had said deductions were still being made from Anambra’s monthly federal allocation to service loans inherited from past administrations.

Okafor disclosed this during an interview on the Voice of Ndi Anambra Podcast, a video clip of which was posted on the Facebook page of Anambra State New Media on Monday.

“Every month during our FAAC meetings, when you see the schedule of FAAC, you will notice there are substantial, significant deductions from our own FAAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” Okafor said.

“These loans were borrowed during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano and other past governors.”

The commissioner also said the Soludo administration had not borrowed from any commercial bank since assuming office and had reduced the state’s debt by more than 83 per cent.

“It is on record that this Soludo government has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration. Our domestic debt as of today is near zero balance,” he said.

According to Okafor, deductions from the state’s federal allocation are still being made to service external obligations, including loans obtained from the World Bank and other financial institutions.

He also disclosed that the state recently repaid a loan obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme.

The commissioner said the repayment of inherited debts had created more fiscal space for the state to fund development projects.

“In a nutshell, we have been able to create more fiscal space for Anambra State by paying off the backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi,” he added.

Obi, however, disputed the claims linking his administration to outstanding debts, challenging the state government to identify anyone who was owed by his administration when he left office.

“13 years ago I left office as Governor. On the day I left the office, I was not owing any pension, salaries and gratuities.. I didn’t owe any money that the Anambra State Government was supposed to pay. I did not owe a single supplier or contractor. If you find even one person I owed, I will end my 2027 campaign today,” Obi said.

The former governor served as Anambra State governor from 2006 to 2014 before handing over to Obiano.

Full Statement

Debunking the Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy

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.

– PO