The Anambra State Government has disputed former Governor Peter Obi’s claim that his administration left the state without outstanding financial liabilities, alleging that he left behind ₦127.4 billion in loan obligations, alongside 11 months of unpaid salaries and other arrears.
The Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, made the disclosure in a statement on Wednesday in response to Obi’s recent demand for evidence that his administration left the state with outstanding debts.
According to Mefor, records showed that financial liabilities inherited by subsequent administrations included unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities.
He said workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation were owed salary arrears accumulated during Obi’s administration, with the matter eventually resulting in litigation and financial judgments against the state.
Mefor said the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had negotiated an out-of-court settlement with the affected workers and had already paid two of the three agreed instalments.
He also cited outstanding obligations to primary school teachers under the local government system.
The commissioner said the Soludo administration had so far cleared about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers.
On the state’s debt profile, Mefor said the latest figures from the Debt Management Office showed that loans incurred during the Obi administration had a balance of ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.
He said the loans were obtained to finance projects in areas including malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare.
“Evidently, Peter Obi borrowed for projects across malaria control, erosion management, education, and healthcare,” Mefor said, adding that the state government currently spends hundreds of millions of naira monthly servicing the debts.
The commissioner stressed that borrowing, in itself, should not be regarded as evidence of poor governance, arguing that loans used for viable projects and human-capital development could be justified.
“Hardly any government in the world operates with zero debt stock. No business or government can scale significantly without debt,” Mefor said.
He added that many Anambra residents would not have objected to borrowing if the funds were used for public schools, hospitals, water schemes and infrastructure.
Mefor urged the former governor to be transparent about the state’s financial history, saying the key issue was not whether Obi borrowed, but whether the loans and other outstanding financial obligations were properly disclosed.