Details of external debt purportedly inherited from the former governor of the state, Peter Obi, have been made public by the Anambra government.
Law Mefor, Anambra’s commissioner for information and value reorientation, claimed in a statement released on Wednesday that Obi owed $123.77 million at the end of his term.
Anambra’s commissioner for finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, stated on Monday that the government is still paying back loans from past administrations, including those of former governors Obi and Willie Obiano.
Later, Obi would respond to the commissioner by claiming that when he left office, he had no unpaid obligations in the southeast state.
He said his administration never owed any salaries, pensions, or contractor payments during his tenure, adding that he left N2.1 billion ecological fund for the state.
‘OBI LEFT $123.77 EXTERNAL DEBT’
Mefor said the loans were obtained for projects, including malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development, and value chain development.
“HE Peter Obi Spent about $4.05 billion (equivalent to N5.4 trillion at the current exchange rate) in 8 years and also contracted US$ 123.77 million in external debt alone, for which our government has so far paid billions of Naira in service payments,” the statement reads.
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“Let’s be clear: hardly any government in the world has zero debt stock. The issue is not whether or not borrowing is good: no business or government can scale significantly without some debt.
“Yes, we converted the audited and published expenditures using the average official exchange rates during the eight years of HE Peter Obi, and they sum to about US$4.05 billion.
“At the current official exchange rate, it would sum to about N5.4 trillion, and he surely governed to the best of his ability. Of course, no government will ever finish the work of development.
“As at the date HE Peter Obi left office (17th March 2014), there were and still are 8 different external borrowings his administration left for his successors. As of June 30, 2026, the total balance of such loans left by HE Peter Obi at the official exchange rate stood at N127.4 billion.”
The commissioner alleged that despite the loans obtained for various projects, Obi left Anambra without functioning urban or rural water schemes, while insecurity and poverty worsened.
He also accused the former governor of leaving behind dysfunctional public schools and hospitals, with grossly inadequate teachers and medical personnel.
“We are convinced that many Ndi Anambra would not have minded if HE Peter Obi had borrowed to fix public schools and hospitals, water schemes, infrastructure, or even to reduce poverty and insecurity; debt, especially for bankable projects and human capital development, is justifiable. So, HE Peter Obi should stop being irked as if all debt is bad,” Mefor said.
The commissioner also disputed the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate’s claim that he left more than N2.13 billion in ecological funds in a First Bank account for the state.
Mefor said no records showed that the state received such funds during the former governor’s eight-year stint in office.
