According to the Anambra State Government, former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano’s loans and other debts are still being paid off by Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s government.
Izuchukwu Okafor, the Commissioner for Finance, revealed this when outlining the state’s financial situation under the Soludo government in an Ndi Anambra podcast that Anambra State New Media posted on Monday.
According to Okafor, since taking office, the present administration has not taken out any loans from commercial banks, but it has continued to repay loans that were left over from earlier administrations.
“It’s on record, you know, that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” he said.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election and a leading opposition figure ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Peter Obi.
He explained that deductions were made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee funds every month to service loans obtained by previous administrations.
ALSO READ: BREAKING: Gunmen Invade Anambra Community, Kill Four, Raze Houses
“Yes, every month during our FAC meetings, and when you see the schedule of FAC, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” Okafor said.
He said some of the loans were obtained during the administrations of Obi and Obiano.
“These loans were borrowed, you know, during the time of, even, not the immediate predecessor, even during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, His Excellency, the past governors,” he said.
Okafor, however, said the Soludo administration had significantly reduced the state’s debt burden while also clearing several inherited domestic obligations.
“But I will also say that Mr Governor has not borrowed a penny. We have been able to manage the debt, the state debt, very well, that we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today. I’ve been able to repay back most of these loans,” he said.
The commissioner said the administration had also cleared several legacy debts, including unpaid contracts, gratuity arrears and pension arrears.
“But I will give you an example for our domestic debt, the control, the legacy, what we call legacy debts, you know, the contracts that were not paid, not owing, the gratuity arrears, pension arrears, we’ve been able to clear all that,” he said.
He added, “In terms of, so, our domestic debt as of today is near-zero balance.”
On the state’s external debts, Okafor said some repayments were automatically deducted from federal allocations because of the terms attached to the loans.
“But following as well, external debts, which is foreign loan-denominated debts, when you look at it, because there are some covenants around the period it will take to pay off these loans, particularly deducted as such when we are doing FAC,” he said.
“Before they limit Anambra’s own allocation, they will deduct it as such, because most of them, World Bank loans and other loans, they committed.”
Former Anambra Governor, Willie Obiano
The commissioner also disclosed that the state had recently paid off one of its debts.
“There is one debt that we recently paid off, CAGS,” he said.
He said the administration’s debt-management strategy had created more fiscal space for the state.
“So, in a nutshell, I’ve been able to, you know, create more fiscal space for Anambra State,” Okafor said.
He added, “This administration has been able to create more by paying off, you know, backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi.”
In 2022 that Obi, then the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, said he did not borrow during his time as governor of Anambra State.
Speaking at an Arise TV Town Hall meeting in Abuja, Obi said, “During my time as a former governor, I served for eight eights. You can go to that state you will find that I never borrowed from any financial institution in Nigeria.”
