The Anambra State Government has asked former governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi to apologise to the people of the state, following an escalating dispute over loans and other financial obligations linked to his administration.
The Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said the government had produced records showing that eight external loan facilities were contracted during Obi’s tenure between 2007 and 2013.
Mefor made the demand in a statement responding to Obi’s challenge that the state government should provide evidence that he left behind debts when he handed over power in March 2014.
According to the Anambra government, the eight facilities had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, while $92.35 million remained outstanding as of June 30, 2026. The state said the outstanding balance was equivalent to about ₦127.37 billion, based on figures attributed to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Mefor said the state government only released the details after Obi challenged it to prove that his administration had left debts.
He argued that the records contained the dates and amounts of the facilities and could be verified through the DMO.
According to the commissioner, Obi and his supporters had continued to dispute the government's interpretation of the figures after the documents were released.
Mefor subsequently urged the former governor to “tender an unreserved apology” to the government and people of Anambra State and Nigeria.
Obi has rejected the description of the facilities as debts he personally incurred or left behind as outstanding obligations.
In a response to the controversy, he said he did not approach any financial institution to borrow money for Anambra and did not issue a bond during his tenure.
He also argued that some of the financing associated with projects implemented during his administration involved facilities supported by international development institutions rather than conventional borrowing undertaken by him personally.
Obi has separately maintained that he left office without owing salaries, pensions, gratuities, contractors or suppliers whose payments were due and properly processed.
The controversy has also shifted to the financial records presented as part of Obi’s 2014 handover.
Yunusa Tanko, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, recently released a copy of Obi’s handover report, which recorded a net balance of ₦86.67 billion after the assets and liabilities listed in the document were taken into account.
The report listed local investments, foreign-currency investments, certified balances of state ministries, departments and agencies, as well as a Federal Government refund.
The Anambra government, however, has challenged aspects of the financial picture presented by Obi and insists that outstanding loan obligations associated with projects undertaken during his administration constitute liabilities that successive governments have continued to service.
The disagreement has therefore centred partly on the distinction between loan facilities contracted during Obi’s tenure, amounts actually disbursed, outstanding balances and what should properly be described as debt left by his administration.
While the Anambra government points to the DMO figures and loan agreements, Obi disputes the characterization of the facilities as debts personally incurred by him or evidence that he left the state in financial distress.
The controversy has become part of the wider political debate surrounding Obi’s record as Anambra governor, as he prepares for the 2027 presidential election.
At this stage, both sides maintain conflicting interpretations of the financial records, and the dispute over the nature and extent of the liabilities remains politically and publicly contested.
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