Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, has dared Governor Chukwuma Soludo to prove that his administration left behind debts owed to contractors, suppliers, workers, or pensioners.
Obi issued the challenge in a viral video clip, responding to claims by the Anambra State Government that it is still servicing loans incurred by past administrations, including his tenure and that of former Governor Willie Obiano.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, had earlier disclosed during an appearance on the Voice of Ndi Anambra Podcast that significant deductions are still being made from Anambra’s monthly FAAC allocation to service inherited loans.
Okafor’s interview, which was shared on the Facebook page of Anambra State New Media on Monday, sparked the latest exchange.
“Every month during our FAAC meetings, when you see the schedule of FAAC, you will notice there are substantial, significant deductions from our own FAAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” Okafor said.
“These loans were borrowed during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano and other past governors,” he added.
The commissioner maintained that the Soludo administration has not borrowed from any commercial bank since assuming office and has cut the state’s debt profile by over 83 percent.
“It is on record that this Soludo government has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration. Our domestic debt as of today is near zero balance,” Okafor stated.
He explained that the deductions from the federal allocation relate to external obligations, including World Bank facilities and other financial commitments, adding that the government recently repaid a loan obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme.
According to him, clearing the backlog of inherited debts has created more fiscal space for the state to execute development projects.
“In a nutshell, we have been able to create more fiscal space for Anambra State by paying off the backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi,” Okafor said.
But Obi dismissed the claims linking his tenure to unpaid debts, insisting he left a clean financial record when he exited office 13 years ago.
“Thirteen years ago I left office as Governor. On the day I left the office, I was not owing any pension, salaries and gratuities. I didn’t owe any money that the Anambra State Government was supposed to pay. I did not owe a single supplier or contractor. If you find even one person I owed, I will end my 2027 campaign today,” Obi declared.
Obi served as Anambra State Governor from 2006 to 2014 before handing over to Willie Obiano.
