2027: Presidency dares Obi to quit race over Anambra debt controversy
The Presidency has challenged the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi to honour his pledge to stop campaigning if it is established that his administration left debts and other financial liabilities in Anambra State.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued the challenge in a post on X on Wednesday amid the escalating dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s financial obligations.
Onanuga said Obi had claimed that he left Anambra without outstanding debts and had pledged to end his presidential campaign if evidence emerged to the contrary.
“Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise.”
He said the Anambra State Government had since presented figures and allegations concerning liabilities it said were linked to the former governor’s administration.
“Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things,” Onanuga said.
“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?” he asked.
The latest development followed a fresh response from the Anambra government to Obi’s rejection of claims that he left behind inherited debts, including an alleged ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities and unpaid salaries, gratuities and pensions.
Obi had maintained that his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.
He also disputed the claim concerning the ecological fund, saying more than ₦2.13 billion remained untouched in a First Bank account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
However, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, rejected Obi’s account in a statement on Wednesday, saying the account cited by the former governor was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account and not an ecological fund account.
Mefor said the state government had obtained a certified printout of the account and claimed that “from 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount—whether as inflow or balance—in the account.”
The controversy began after the Anambra State Government said it was still servicing loans incurred by previous administrations, including those of Obi and his successor, Willie Obiano. The state’s Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, said deductions were being made from the state’s monthly Federation Account allocation to service the loans.
Obi has continued to deny leaving unpaid obligations and challenged the state government and other critics to produce evidence to the contrary.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi said.
 Peter Obi to honour his pledge to stop){kind=link}