NEWS
Peter Obi Releases Handover Document Showing ₦86bn Positive Balance as Anambra Debt Dispute Deepens
The controversy over the financial legacy of former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has taken a fresh turn following the release of his official handover document, which his camp says provides a detailed picture of the state’s finances at the end of his administration.
The document, dated March 17, 2014, was released on Wednesday by the Interim National Coordinator of the Obedient Movement, Dr Yinusa Tanko, amid an escalating disagreement between Obi and the Anambra State Government over loans and other financial obligations allegedly inherited from previous administrations.
According to the document made public by Obi’s camp, Anambra State ended his administration with a net positive financial balance of more than ₦86 billion. The figure is being presented as a counterpoint to recent claims by the state government that Obi left behind outstanding loans and other liabilities.
The development followed comments by the Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, who disclosed that the state was still servicing loans obtained by previous administrations, including those associated with Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.
Okafor made the disclosure during an appearance on the Ndi Anambra podcast released by the state government’s New Media team.
The commissioner maintained that inherited financial obligations remained part of the state’s current commitments, even though the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had not obtained fresh commercial bank loans since assuming office.
Obi subsequently challenged the state government to substantiate the allegations, maintaining that the financial position reflected in his handover records contradicted the suggestion that his administration left behind unpaid obligations of the nature being alleged.
The former governor also said he would discontinue his campaign for the 2027 presidential election if evidence could be produced to substantiate the allegations against his administration.
The Anambra State Government, however, has continued to dispute Obi’s account.
In a statement issued under the title Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies, Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said state records showed that financial obligations connected to Obi’s administration, as well as some liabilities inherited from earlier governments, remained outstanding.
Mefor identified eight external loans linked to projects implemented during Obi’s administration or inherited during his tenure. According to the state government, the outstanding balance on the facilities stood at $92.35 million, which it valued at approximately ₦127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The loans cited by the government relate to projects in areas including malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development and agricultural development. Among the facilities identified were the Malaria Control Booster Project and the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project.
The competing positions have therefore placed two different aspects of Anambra’s financial history at the centre of the ongoing dispute: Obi’s newly released handover document, which records a net positive balance of more than ₦86 billion at the point of transition, and the current administration’s debt records, which it says show outstanding external loan obligations connected to projects undertaken during or inherited by Obi’s government.
With both sides now presenting documentary evidence and financial records, the dispute has shifted from competing claims to a question of how the liabilities, assets, loan proceeds and outstanding obligations recorded at different points in time should be reconciled.
The release of the handover document is consequently expected to keep the issue in the public spotlight as the political conversation surrounding Anambra’s financial management and the 2027 presidential con
test continues to intensify.