The Presidency has challenged the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to honour his earlier pledge to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if claims about his financial record as Anambra State governor are proven otherwise.
The challenge followed a fresh dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over outstanding loans, salaries, pensions and gratuities allegedly inherited from his administration.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, raised the issue in a post on X on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, citing claims by the Anambra State Government that Obi did not leave the state without financial liabilities.
Onanuga said Obi had claimed he left Anambra with a “clean slate of debt,” but argued that the state government had presented figures concerning outstanding obligations involving workers of the defunct Water Corporation, teachers, pensioners and other beneficiaries.
He also questioned whether Obi would honour his earlier pledge to stop campaigning for the presidency if evidence emerged contradicting his account of Anambra’s finances.
The controversy was triggered by a statement from the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, who disputed Obi’s claim that his administration left the state without outstanding liabilities.
Mefor said the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had cleared about N22 billion in gratuity arrears inherited from previous administrations, covering retired state and local government workers as well as teachers.
The commissioner further alleged that Obi’s administration left behind outstanding loans and arrears of salaries, pensions and gratuities which were subsequently inherited by succeeding governments.
According to the Anambra State Government, eight external loans linked to projects implemented during, or inherited by, the Obi administration remained outstanding, with a combined balance of $92.35 million, estimated at N127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The loans, according to the government, were associated with projects covering malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development and agricultural value-chain development.
Mefor, however, said the state government was not interested in determining which administration paid particular arrears, but maintained that some legacy liabilities dating back to previous administrations remained unresolved.
He specifically cited salary arrears allegedly owed to workers of the defunct Water Corporation, which he said persisted throughout Obi’s tenure.
Obi has maintained a different account of his administration’s financial record.
The former governor previously claimed that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.
He also disputed the state government’s position on the ecological fund, claiming that more than N2.13 billion remained untouched in a First Bank account earmarked for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis. Obi further claimed that his administration left more than N75 billion in savings.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi said, challenging the Anambra State Government or any other party to provide evidence contradicting his account.
The latest exchange has therefore turned Obi’s past record as Anambra governor into a fresh political issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with both sides presenting conflicting accounts of the state’s finances and liabilities.
