The Anambra State Government has demanded an unreserved apology from former Governor Peter Obi over claims that his administration left the state without outstanding loans and other financial obligations.
The demand was made by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, as the dispute between the state government and the former governor over Anambra’s financial records intensified.
Mefor said government records showed that Obi’s administration entered into eight International Development Association (IDA) and World Bank loan agreements during his eight-year tenure.
According to the commissioner, the facilities were valued at $123.77 million in total. He said the loans and their repayment obligations were recorded by the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The state government further said the outstanding balance on the facilities stood at about $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026.
Using the exchange rate cited by the government, that amounted to approximately ₦127.37 billion.
Mefor argued that the issue was not whether borrowing was inherently wrong, but whether Obi’s administration left financial obligations for subsequent governments.
He said the records could be independently checked with the DMO in Abuja, insisting that the figures were based on official debt records rather than political claims.
The commissioner also accused the former administration of failing to fully disclose some of its liabilities in its handover documentation.
He alleged that the liabilities extended beyond external loans to include outstanding salaries and pensions, although the latest statement did not provide a detailed breakdown of the alleged arrears.
The government also challenged Obi’s position that the loans should not be described as debts because he did not personally approach a commercial bank or the DMO to obtain them.
Mefor maintained that once a state government signs the relevant agreements for multilateral loans, the resulting obligations become part of the state’s financial commitments.
The controversy followed Obi’s repeated denial that he left Anambra with unpaid debts when he handed over power in March 2014.
In an interview on Arise TV on September 24, Obi maintained that he did not leave the state indebted. He also argued that he had left more than $150 million in savings and investments, which he said could have covered the alleged loan balance if it existed.
The former governor has also argued that the funds described as loans were concessionary support facilitated through the Federal Government and the World Bank, rather than conventional borrowing from a bank.
However, Mefor said the government had already presented the relevant loan records and challenged Obi to contest the figures directly with the DMO.
He said the former governor had initially challenged anyone to prove that he left debts behind and should now respond to the records produced by the state government.
Mefor therefore called on Obi to acknowledge the government’s position and apologise to the people of Anambra, saying the dispute had moved beyond political disagreement to questions surrounding the accuracy of public financial records.
The commissioner said the government would continue to make the state’s financial records available in the interest of public accountability.
The latest exchange has further widened the dispute over Obi’s record as governor, with the two sides presenting sharply different interpretations of the loans, assets and liabilities associated with his administration.