Awka Anambra State – The Anambra State Government has released additional documents it describes as fresh evidence that former Governor Peter Obi left behind unpaid salary arrears and other financial obligations when he exited office in March 2014, intensifying an ongoing public dispute over the state’s debt profile and fiscal records.
The latest materials include a 2006 internal memo from Obi’s early months in office and a 2024 out-of-court settlement agreement.
Officials say these contradict Obi’s repeated assertions that his administration cleared all outstanding salaries, pensions, and gratuities and handed over a state free of such liabilities.
In a statement and posts shared via the state government’s channels, Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation Dr. Law Mefor referenced a memo dated April 25, 2006, attributed to Obi’s then Chief of Staff, Chuks Iloegbunam.
The document appealed for the release of funds for workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation, noting that staff had not been paid since February of that year and that the corporation’s monthly wage bill stood at about ₦15 million. It urged the then-governor to regularise payments so the workers would no longer need to repeatedly seek intervention at the Governor’s Office.
The government also highlighted a “Terms of Settlement” document signed on February 6, 2024, between the Anambra State Government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
Officials said the agreement related to lingering salary issues involving the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA). According to the state, the current administration under Governor Chukwuma Soludo has been clearing a backlog that persisted through Obi’s tenure, culminating in court processes and judgments.
The Soludo government stated it has already paid the first two of three agreed instalments under the settlement.
Beyond the Water Corporation arrears, the government reiterated claims that Obi’s administration verified and certified 16 months of salary arrears for primary school teachers under the local government system (dating in part to the earlier tenure of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju) but paid only five months before leaving office.
It said a committee headed by the Head of Service has been set up to conduct fresh verification of remaining liabilities. The Soludo administration further stated it has cleared about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears for retired state and local government employees and teachers, while some legacy obligations remain.
On broader financial obligations, the state has pointed to Debt Management Office (DMO) records showing eight external loans linked to projects during or connected to Obi’s 2006–2014 tenure. Officials put the original value at approximately $123.77 million, with an outstanding balance of about $92.35 million (equivalent to roughly ₦127.4 billion at the official exchange rate as of June 30, 2026).
These facilities, tied to areas including education, malaria control, erosion management, health, and agriculture, continue to be serviced through deductions from the state’s federal allocation, according to the government.
The disclosures form part of a broader exchange triggered by Obi’s public rejection of earlier claims by state officials that his administration left unpaid debts.
Obi has maintained that his government systematically cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and that, at handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, pensions, or gratuities, nor any amounts to contractors for duly executed and certified projects. He has challenged anyone able to prove otherwise, stating he would stop campaigning for the 2027 presidency if such evidence were established.
In response, state officials have directly addressed Obi, asserting that he “owed salaries, pensions and gratuities” and that many affected individuals remain alive and able to testify. They have also disputed his claim of leaving approximately ₦2.13 billion in an ecological fund account, describing the referenced account as an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account that never held the sum claimed.
The Anambra State Government has framed the release of the documents as a matter of setting the factual record straight rather than engaging in prolonged argument. Obi has continued to reject the allegations, insisting he paid what was due at the time he left office. The dispute continues to draw attention amid Obi’s positioning as a presidential contender under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
About the Author
