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BREAKING: Anambra Govt Releases DMO Records, Says Peter Obi Left $123.7m External Debt
The Anambra State Government has released records of debts and financial obligations linked to previous administrations, amid the ongoing controversy over claims that the state is still servicing loans incurred by former Governor Peter Obi.
The documents were released on Tuesday in a press statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.”
According to the statement, data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) as of June 30, 2026, shows that the Obi administration signed 8 external loans totaling $123,771,179.30, with an outstanding balance of $92,353,182.00, equivalent to N127.4 billion, which the current administration is still servicing.
The government listed the loans to include the Malaria Control Booster Project signed in 2007 for $9.46m with $4.48m (N6.18bn) outstanding, the Third National Fadama Development Project signed in 2009 for $7.17m with $4.37m (N6.03bn) outstanding, the Health System Development Project II signed in 2009 for $4.12m with $2.04m (N2.81bn) outstanding, and the Malaria Control Booster Project Additional Financing signed in 2009 for $4.42m with $3.17m (N4.37bn) outstanding.
The remaining four are the State Education Programme Investment Project signed in 2013 for $48.33m with $37.34m (N51.5bn) outstanding, the Community and Social Development Project signed in 2009 for $4.84m with $3.7m (N5.1bn) outstanding, the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project signed in 2013 for $37.89m with $34.86m (N48.08bn) outstanding, and the Value Chain Development Project signed in 2013 for $7.5m with $2.37m (N3.27bn) outstanding.
The release comes after Obi, the presidential candidate of National Democratic Congress (NDC) challenged Governor Chukwuma Soludo to publish any debt he incurred as governor, vowing to stop campaigning for the 2027 presidency if any such debt was proven.
On Spending
The government also claimed Obi spent about $4.05 billion in his eight years, equivalent to N5.4 trillion at current exchange rate.
“Hardly any government in the world has zero debt stock. No government will ever finish the work of development,” the statement said, but added that Obi left behind “dead public schools and dead public hospitals” and no functioning water schemes.
On Salaries and Pensions
Countering Obi’s claim that he cleared all salary, pension and gratuity arrears, the government said the claim is “patently false.”
“We have cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears,” Mefor said, adding that there were still legacy arrears from Obi’s tenure including salaries of staff of the defunct Water Corporation which ended in court judgments, and 16 months of primary school teachers’ salary arrears where only five months were paid by the Obi administration.
“So, Your Excellency, you owed salaries, pensions and gratuities. Many of these people are still alive and can testify,” the government said.
*On N2.13bn Ecological Fund*
On the ecological fund, the government accused Obi of fabricating lies about N2.13 billion left in First Bank Account No.2018779464, UNIZIK Branch, Awka.
“The account is an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) – Consolidated Revenue Account, and NOT an ecological fund account,” the government said. “From 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount—whether as inflow or balance—in the account.”
The government challenged Obi to account for the money, “Since HE Peter Obi raised the issue and admitted that his government received such an amount and it is evident that no such an amount ever entered into the account that he cited, it behoves on HE Peter Obi to tell us where exactly his government kept the money or is the money missing?”
