Anambra Doubles Down On Peter Obi-era Debt, Puts Outstanding Loans At $127.77m

The Anambra State Government has put the total external loans contracted during the administration of former Governor Peter Obi at $123.77 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026.

The figures form part of the state government’s response to renewed claims by Obi, who governed Anambra from 2006 to 2014, that he left the state in a strong financial position without outstanding liabilities.

According to the state authorities, the outstanding foreign debt translates to ₦127.37 billion, based on the exchange rate used in its computation.

The government said the loans were obtained for eight projects, including the Malaria Control Booster Project, Third National Fadama Development Project, Health System Development Project II, State Education Programme Investment Project, Community and Social Development Project, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project and Value Chain Development Project.

The largest outstanding balance, according to the figures released by the state, is $37.34 million on the State Education Programme Investment Project.

The Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project has an outstanding balance of $34.86 million, while about $4.48 million remains on the Malaria Control Booster Project.

The state government also alleged that Obi’s administration left behind unpaid liabilities involving gratuities, pensions and salary arrears, including obligations relating to former Water Corporation workers and primary school teachers.

It said the current administration had spent more than ₦22 billion addressing inherited gratuity arrears.

The claims come amid a fresh dispute between the Anambra Government and Obi over the state’s financial position at the end of his tenure.

Anambra Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, recently said the current administration had not obtained any commercial bank loan since taking office but continued to make deductions from its Federation Account allocation to service loans inherited from previous administrations, including those of Obi and his successor, Willie Obiano.

Obi, however, has rejected the claims that his administration left unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor obligations.

He said his administration systematically cleared historical gratuity and arrears amounting to more than ₦35 billion, and maintained that the state owed no salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor bills when he handed over power in 2014.

Obi has also disputed the government’s account of a ₦2.13 billion ecological fund.

He said the money was released shortly before the end of his tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis and that he deliberately left it untouched for his successor because it was tied to a specific project.

Obi identified a First Bank account at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University branch, account number 2018779464, which he said contained more than ₦2.13 billion when he left office.

The state government has disputed the description of the account as an ecological fund account, saying its records indicate that the account was an internally generated revenue account.

The competing claims over the account and the outstanding loans have yet to be independently reconciled through publicly released audit, banking and debt-service records.

The latest figures therefore deepen the dispute over the financial position of Anambra at the end of Obi’s tenure, with the state government highlighting outstanding external obligations and Obi insisting that he left the state without unpaid liabilities