Anambra govt says Obi owed $123.77m in external loans as presidency dares him to quit 2027 race
Bayo Onanuga
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Anambra State Government has revealed external loans contracted during Peter Obi’s tenure as governor, putting the total at about US$123.77 million and noting that servicing costs and outstanding balances remained on the books as of June 2026.
The statement released on Wednesday contests Obi’s repeated claim that he left office with a “clean slate” of debt, citing unpaid arrears owed to Anambra Water Corporation staff, salaries of primary school teachers from earlier periods, as well as pension and gratuity obligations that were still outstanding.
It also challenges his assertion that N2.13 billion was sitting in a specific First Bank ecological fund account, describing the figure and its status as disputed in the government’s accounting records.
Reacting to the release, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, amplified the document and framed it as a direct test of Obi’s earlier threat to quit the 2027 presidential race if his debt claims were disproved.
“Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise.
“Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things. The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?” Onanuga wrote.
The government’s statement, coupled with Onanuga’s commentary, intensifies pressure on Obi as he positions himself for another presidential bid, with opponents seizing on the loan disclosures to question his fiscal record and credibility on debt management.
