“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning” — Peter Obi debunks Anambra debt claims
Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate Peter Obi has rejected claims that his administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities and unpaid salaries, gratuities and pensions.
Obi, in a statement addressing the claims attributed to the current Anambra State Government, described them as “completely false” and accused the state government of promoting what he called “phantom debts and ecological loan fallacy.”
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According to him, his administration inherited several outstanding obligations but systematically cleared historical gratuities and arrears accumulated over previous years.
He claimed that more than ₦35 billion was used to liquidate the outstanding gratuities and arrears, insisting that the state had no outstanding salaries, gratuities or pensions when he handed over power.
Obi also denied owing contractors for projects that had been duly executed and certified at the time of his departure from office.
Addressing the disputed ₦2 billion ecological fund, Obi explained that the money was released approximately three months before the end of his tenure to address the erosion crisis in Oko and Umuchiana.
He said he resisted pressure to spend the money before leaving office, arguing that it should be preserved for his successor because government is a continuum and the funds had been earmarked for 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.”
Obi further claimed that funds earmarked for specific projects were excluded from the more than ₦75 billion in savings he said his administration left behind.
He maintained that his administration did not leave behind the financial liabilities being alleged and challenged anyone capable of proving otherwise to do so.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
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