“Facts Beyond Propaganda” – Anambra Govt Accuses Peter Obi Of Leaving Debts, Missing ₦2.13bn Ecological Fund

• The Anambra State Government has disputed former governor Peter Obi’s claims about the state’s finances at the end of his tenure in 2014, including his assertion that more than ₦2.13 billion was left untouched in a First Bank account for erosion control.
• The government says records show outstanding obligations from previous administrations and has challenged Obi’s account of the funds and debts.

The Anambra State Government has disputed former governor Peter Obi’s claims about the state’s financial position when he handed over power in 2014, accusing his administration of leaving outstanding debts and challenging his account of a ₦2.13 billion ecological fund.

The Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, made the claims in a statement on Wednesday, September 16, titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.”

The fresh dispute followed Obi’s response a day earlier to allegations that his administration left behind debts, unpaid obligations and an ecological fund-related liability.

Obi had rejected the claims as false, saying his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and handed over the state without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts to contractors for duly executed and certified projects.

On the ecological fund, Obi said more than ₦2.13 billion remained untouched in a First Bank account after the money was released shortly before the end of his tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.

He said the funds were deliberately preserved for his successor and were separate from the more than ₦75 billion in savings he claimed to have left behind.

“The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion.”

Obi also challenged anyone who could establish otherwise to come forward, saying:

“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”

However, the Anambra government has now rejected his account, saying the First Bank account he identified was not an ecological fund account and had never contained the amount he cited.

The state has also maintained that it is still servicing loans inherited from previous administrations, including loans associated with the administrations of Obi and former governor Willie Obiano.

The development has triggered reactions from Nigerians on social media.

@Smarttom18: Why blaming Obi after Obiano did 8yrs, it’s seems you’re skipping your medication for a severe migraine.

@Bedezeugo: Absolute rubbish! Show us the bank statement of that account as at the time PO left office, and not info graphics and so called certified true copies. He wrote the account number. Let’s see the statement of account!

@chimexbob: To think that Ndi Anambra re-elected Soludo after his earlier dance of shame against Peter Obi in the 2023 election is bewildering.

@NDCWarRoom: Facts over cheap blackmail. Peter Obi’s official handover letter to Obiano his successor.

@Born2rule015: Pls quote his lie…you can’t allow him And his followers get away with their mischief

@Ofumatyme: Lol wtf did you just post? You mean this is evidence of how Peter Obi borrowed the money? Bunch of clowns

@AnewNaija: This futile effort to dent Peter Obi’s verified record of prudence has once again exposed these people as pathological traducers.

@NdekeEjike: No evidence. Just a press document. Soludo shame on you.

@TimkoGerald: This matter go long sha between d obidient and solution 😂

@Chidozie_25: This is shameful, coming from someone who should know better. Soludo, you are a disappointment.

@adepoju: We have verified. Peter Obi, pease stop the sanctimonious, pious, frugal charade.

@SheardySaint: You people should take him to court if you feel he’s telling lies because he already answered you all. X is not a court stop shitsshow

@pankomane: You people are yet to fully grasp the irreparable damage PO has done to the image of Ndi Igbo. The Igbos I’ve personally met and become friends with are nothing like the reflection he has created.

@Nuel39659760: A day of reckoning is coming for all of you under this Soludo government. Imagine the lies without document or account statement to back up all ur lies. Very timid governor