The Presidency has reacted to the ongoing dispute between former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the state government over the financial liabilities allegedly incurred during his administration.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X on Wednesday, challenged Obi to honour his pledge to stop campaigning if claims about his administration’s financial record were proven incorrect.
Onanuga said Obi had previously claimed that he left Anambra State without debt and had pledged to stop campaigning if anyone established otherwise.
He added that the Anambra State Government had presented figures alleging that the former administration left outstanding obligations to Water Corporation workers, teachers, pensioners and contractors.
The presidential aide also accused the former governor of borrowing for what he described as frivolous projects, asking whether Obi would follow through on his pledge in light of the state government’s latest claims.
The development followed a fresh response from the Anambra State Government to Obi’s Tuesday denial of allegations that his administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological fund liability, contractor obligations and unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities.
Obi said his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.
He also disputed the claim concerning the ecological fund, saying more than ₦2.13 billion was left untouched in a First Bank account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
However, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, rejected Obi’s account in a statement on Wednesday.
Mefor said the account identified by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account and not an ecological fund account.
According to Mefor, the state government obtained a certified printout of the account and found that from its opening in 2011 to date, it had neither received nor maintained the ₦2.13 billion amount claimed by Obi.
Obi had challenged anyone who could prove his account of Anambra’s finances wrong, saying he would stop campaigning if such evidence was established. The dispute has continued to generate political attention ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
