Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has again denied borrowing money or issuing bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight years as governor, dismissing claims that his administration left behind debt for successive governments to service.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday, Obi responded to allegations by the Anambra State Government that loans and other financial liabilities from his tenure remain unpaid. He said he left office in March 2014 without owing salaries, pensions, gratuities, or contractors whose verified projects had been completed.
“Let me categorically state again: I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State in the eight years I was in government,” he said. “On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I headed, was not owing any salary, gratuity, or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government. We were not owing any contractor or supplier who executed his job, certified and verified — not one.”
Obi explained that some of the facilities being attributed to his administration were actually concessionary funds secured by the Federal Government and made available to states for specific development programmes. He pointed to the State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP), noting that Anambra was one of three states — alongside Ekiti and Bauchi — selected for concessionary multilateral support based on their performance in education.
Asked whether the funding came through a Federal Government arrangement, Obi confirmed it involved the World Bank. “To support us. Not that we go to the World Bank and say give me this, not that we go to any commercial bank,” he said, adding that the drawdown for SEPIP came well after he left office.
While the Anambra State Government insists that loans contracted during Obi’s tenure remain the state’s liability and continues to service them, Obi argued that undrawn funds under a loan facility should not be classified as debt his administration incurred. “Even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money, but I did not spend the money, you cannot call it debt I left,” he said.
He also referenced former Debt Management Office Director-General, Abraham Nwankwo, who he said publicly stated at his send-off ceremony that Obi was the only governor who never visited his office to seek approval to borrow money.
Obi maintained that his administration’s financial record remains verifiable through official documents, including the handover report.
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