Peter Obi Challenges Soludo Over Anambra Debt Claims, Says He’ll Stop 2027 Campaign If Proven Wrong

Peter Obi has challenged the Anambra State Government to provide evidence that he left the state with debts when he handed over power in 2014, saying he would stop his 2027 presidential campaign if the claim is proven.

The former Anambra governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) made the challenge after the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, alleged that the administration of Governor Charles Soludo was still repaying loans and other debts incurred by previous administrations, including Obi’s.

Okafor also alleged that Obi failed to account for about ₦2.1 billion in ecological funds. Obi has rejected the claims, insisting that his administration cleared outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities and payments owed to contractors for completed and certified projects before leaving office.

Speaking during an interview in Washington, DC, Obi said there were no outstanding obligations of that nature when he handed over the state government. He said his administration had also cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears inherited from earlier administrations.

On the ecological fund, Obi said the Federal Government released the money about three months before he left office. He maintained that the funds were kept intact in a First Bank account for the incoming administration of Willie Obiano and were earmarked for an erosion-control project involving Oko and Umuchiana.

Obi said the money was deliberately not spent before his departure because he wanted the incoming administration to use it for the intended purpose. He also said the ecological funds were separate from the more than ₦75 billion in savings he claimed his administration left behind.

The former governor has now challenged the Anambra Government to produce evidence showing that the funds were missing or that he left the state with the debts alleged by the current administration. “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi said in his latest response.

The dispute adds another political dimension to the relationship between Obi and Soludo ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Soludo, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, has publicly expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, while Obi is campaigning for the presidency under the NDC. Obi has said governors have the right to support candidates of their choice but called for a free and credible election.

The debt dispute remains a matter of competing claims between Obi and officials of the Soludo administration. Evidence from state financial records, loan documents and the accounts referenced by both sides would be needed to independently establish the precise obligations inherited from each previous administration.