…State Government Accuses Ex-Governor of Breaking Campaign Promises
The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, accusing him of breaking key campaign promises on debt and timely payment of workers’ salaries.
CDA News Nigeria reports that in a statement posted on its official X account on Tuesday, the state’s New Media Office asked, “When will Peter Obi quit the presidential campaign?”
CDA News Nigeria gathered that the government recalled that Obi had vowed to quit the presidential race if it was proven that he left Anambra in debt, and had also pledged while governor to resign if workers were not paid on time.
“He (Obi) vowed to quit the presidential race if proven he left Anambra in debt. As governor, he vowed to resign if workers weren’t paid on time. He broke both. He left office in 2014 with heavier arrears,” the government said.
The government accompanied the post with a letter dated April 25, 2006, allegedly signed by Chuks Iloegbunam, then Chief of Staff to Obi. The letter, titled “GUBERNATORIAL PREROGATIVE,” made a “special appeal” to Obi to settle salary arrears owed to workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation, noting that workers had last been paid in February.
The letter referenced Obi’s campaign manifesto, which pledged that the governor would resign “if there is any case where workers are not paid as and when due.”
CDA News Nigeria notes that Obi had only been in office for about five weeks when the letter was allegedly written, having been sworn in on March 17, 2006. The salary arrears, therefore, may have predated his assumption of office and been inherited from the previous administration.
The development is part of an ongoing dispute between Governor Charles Soludo’s administration and Obi over the financial position of the state when the former governor left office in March 2014. The Anambra government, through Commissioner for Information Dr. Law Mefor, had alleged that Obi left N127.4 billion in outstanding external loans, as well as salary, pension, and gratuity arrears.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has rejected the claims, insisting he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities, or obligations to contractors. He vowed to stop campaigning for the 2027 presidency if the state government could produce evidence that he left debts. The Presidency, through Bayo Onanuga, subsequently challenged Obi to honour his pledge and quit the race.
Source verification: Original reporting based on a statement by the Anambra State Government’s New Media Office and the 2006 letter allegedly signed by Chuks Iloegbunam,
Editorial Policy: CDA News Nigeria is committed to accurate and balanced reporting. Allegations are attributed to their source.
Byline: By CDA News Nigeria Correspondent
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