The Presidency has challenged former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi to honor his pledge to stop campaigning for the 2027 presidential election if claims that his administration left outstanding debts and financial liabilities are proven.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the challenge on Wednesday amid an escalating dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s financial obligations.
The controversy followed claims by Anambra officials that the state was still servicing loans and other liabilities linked to previous administrations, including Obi’s tenure as governor.
Obi has strongly rejected the allegations. In a statement on Tuesday, he 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 said the state did not owe contractors for projects that had been properly completed and certified.
Obi further challenged anyone who could establish that his account of Anambra’s finances was inaccurate, saying he would stop campaigning for the presidency if evidence proved otherwise.
The Anambra State Government subsequently released details of loans it said remained outstanding. Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation Law Mefor said eight external loans associated with projects during or inherited by Obi’s administration had an outstanding balance of about $92.35 million, which the state valued at approximately ₦127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The state government also disputed Obi’s account of an alleged ₦2 billion ecological fund, saying the bank account he cited was an internally generated revenue account rather than an ecological fund account.
Onanuga said the latest figures presented by the Anambra government had placed the issue back before Obi and questioned whether the former governor would follow through on his pledge if the allegations were established.
The dispute has added a new dimension to the political conversation surrounding the 2027 presidential election, with competing claims about Obi’s record in Anambra now receiving renewed attention.
The allegations and counterclaims remain contested, with Obi maintaining that he left Anambra without the outstanding obligations alleged by the state government.
Swifteradio.com
