The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has insisted that he never borrowed money or issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State throughout his eight years as governor, maintaining that he left the state debt-free.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that Obi asserted on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, stating that when his administration left office in March 2014, it owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, pensions, or payments to contractors whose jobs had been executed, certified, and verified.
He said, “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.”
Addressing loans attributed to his administration, Obi explained that some funding arrangements came through Federal Government concessionary multilateral support extended to Anambra, Ekiti and Bauchi over their performance in education, rather than funds he personally obtained from banks. He noted that drawdowns on such programmes, including the State Education Programme Investment Project, occurred well after he left office.
The dispute follows recent criticism from the Anambra State Government, which alleged Obi left outstanding external loans, salary and pension arrears, and disputed his claim of leaving over N2.13 billion in an ecological fund account. Obi had earlier vowed to quit campaigning if proven wrong.
Meanwhile, the NDC and the Obi-backed OK Movement have criticised Governor Charles Soludo’s continued attacks on Obi, with NDC’s Osa Director describing them as a political distraction.
CDA News Nigeria will continue monitoring this unfolding debt controversy.
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