Anambra Debt Documents Put Peter Obi’s Legacy Under Fresh Scrutiny — PVM President
Anambr
a Debt Documents Put Peter Obi’s Legacy Under Fresh Scrutiny — PVM President
The renewed controversy over the financial legacy of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has taken a fresh turn following the release of multiple documents by the Chukwuma Soludo administration detailing external financing, salary arrears and other financial obligations allegedly connected to the period of Obi’s administration.
The Anambra State Government said records available to it show that eight external financing facilities associated with projects implemented during Obi’s tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million. The government also cited outstanding obligations and legacy salary arrears involving workers and pensioners of defunct state agencies.
The state government has particularly pointed to documents relating to workers of the former Anambra State Water Corporation and Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency. One document released in the controversy provides for a ₦363.381 million payment as part of a settlement involving salary arrears and other entitlements.
Reacting to the development, President of the Progressives Vision Movement (PVM), Prince Gbadegeshin Ademola, said the release of official-looking financial records should force Nigerians to take a closer look at the narrative surrounding Obi’s tenure.
“With all these documents now being presented, Nigerians have a responsibility to examine the records rather than relying on political narratives or the image created around any politician. If these documents withstand independent verification, then the public deserves a clear explanation of what was borrowed, what was spent, what remained outstanding and what was actually handed over in 2014,” Ademola said.
He added that the controversy was significant because Obi has consistently presented his stewardship of Anambra as evidence of prudent financial management, while the Soludo administration is now putting forward documents that it says tell a different story.
“For years, many supporters have presented Peter Obi almost as if he was beyond scrutiny. These documents are now putting that perception to the test. A public figure should be judged by verifiable records, not by the image created around him,” the PVM president said.
However, Obi has rejected the characterization of the $123.77 million figure as debt personally incurred by his administration. He argued that the state government had combined different categories of multilateral development financing and that the contracted amount should not automatically be treated as the debt outstanding when he handed over power in March 2014.
The former governor also disputed claims that his administration left unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or verified debts to contractors, maintaining that substantial investments and funds were handed over to his successor. His position means the central issue is now not merely the existence of financing facilities, but how the facilities were contracted, drawn, recorded and inherited by subsequent administrations.
Ademola therefore called for the controversy to be settled through documentary evidence and independent verification rather than political arguments.
“The question Nigerians should ask is simple: what do the official records say? If the figures released by the Anambra Government are correct, Peter Obi should explain them. If his counter-figures are correct, the government should also explain its own figures. Nobody should be treated as a saint simply because of political popularity,” he said.
The dispute has consequently shifted from competing political narratives to a broader debate over public debt, inherited liabilities, workers’ arrears and the accuracy of financial records surrounding Obi’s eight-year tenure in Anambra State.
