The Presidency has challenged the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to honour his pledge to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if his claims about Anambra State’s finances are proven wrong.
The challenge followed fresh claims by the Anambra State Government that Obi left behind outstanding loans and other financial liabilities when he served as governor of the state.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued the challenge in a post on X on Wednesday.
Onanuga said Obi had claimed that he left Anambra with a clean debt slate, but that the state government had presented figures concerning outstanding liabilities involving workers of the defunct Water Corporation, teachers, pensions and gratuities.
“Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt,” Onanuga wrote, asking whether the former governor would now honour his earlier pledge to quit the presidential race if evidence emerged contradicting his claims.
The controversy followed a statement by Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, disputing Obi’s assertion that his administration left the state without outstanding liabilities.
Mefor said the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had cleared about N22 billion in gratuity arrears inherited from previous administrations and owed to retired state and local government workers as well as teachers.
He also alleged that Obi’s administration left behind outstanding loans, salaries, pensions and gratuity arrears which were inherited by subsequent administrations.
According to the Anambra State Government, eight external loans associated with projects implemented during or inherited by the Obi administration remained outstanding.
It put the combined balance of the loans at $92.35 million, equivalent to N127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The loans, according to the government, were obtained for projects covering malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development and agricultural value-chain development.
Mefor said the state government was not interested in determining which administration paid specific arrears, but maintained that some legacy liabilities dating back to previous administrations remained outstanding.
READ ALSO: Only six Northern Govs back Tinubu in 2023 election – Shettima
He specifically cited salary arrears owed to workers of the defunct Water Corporation, which he said persisted throughout Obi’s tenure as governor.
Obi, however, had earlier maintained that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.
The former governor also disputed the state government’s claim concerning the ecological fund, alleging that more than N2.13 billion remained untouched in a First Bank account earmarked for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
He further claimed that his administration left more than N75 billion in savings.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi had said, challenging the Anambra State Government or any other party to produce evidence contradicting his account.
The latest exchange has intensified the political dispute over the management of Anambra’s finances during Obi’s tenure, with the Presidency now asking the former governor to act on the condition he attached to his continued 2027 presidential campaign.
