Obi-Soludo Dispute: Beyond ‘No Quarrel’, Anambra Debt Records Raise Fresh Questions
Obi-Soludo Dispute: Beyond ‘No Quarrel’, Anambra Debt Records Raise Fresh Questions
By Akin Alade
The latest clarification by former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi that he has “no quarrels” with Governor Chukwuma Soludo has shifted attention away from the personalities involved and back to a more substantive issue: the financial records inherited by successive administrations in Anambra State.
Obi, speaking at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu, described Soludo as his “elder brother” and maintained that there was no personal disagreement between them. He also said he would not seek the governorship of any state again, even if the Constitution were amended to permit it.
However, the central controversy remains the competing accounts of Anambra’s financial obligations during and after Obi’s administration. The Soludo administration recently released documents concerning loans and other liabilities it says are connected to previous administrations, while Obi has challenged the interpretation of those records and denied leaving unpaid debts in the manner alleged.
Obi has argued that several of the facilities being discussed were not conventional loans personally obtained by his administration, but programmes involving institutions such as the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, accessed through arrangements involving the Federal Government and the state. He has also questioned the methodology used to combine approved facilities, amounts drawn and outstanding balances.
The Anambra State Government, on the other hand, has maintained that financial obligations inherited from previous administrations remain relevant to assessing the state’s fiscal history. Reports citing the state government’s position said outstanding liabilities included loan balances as well as arrears involving salaries, pensions and gratuities.
The disagreement therefore goes beyond whether Obi and Soludo personally have a quarrel. It raises a broader public-interest question about how governments document, transfer and account for public debts, grants, investments and other financial commitments from one administration to another.
Obi has called for the controversy to be settled through verifiable records rather than political exchanges. He has also urged governors to allow presidential candidates and other political contestants to campaign freely ahead of the 2027 elections, arguing that voters should ultimately determine their choice at the polls.
For Anambra residents and Nigerians following the controversy, the most important issue may therefore be the documentary evidence: what was borrowed, by whom, how much was actually drawn, what was repaid, what remained outstanding when each administration left office, and how the figures were subsequently recorded by the relevant public institutions.
Until those questions are reconciled through independently verifiable financial records, the “no quarrel” declaration between Obi and Soludo does not by itself resolve the underlying debate over Anambra’s fiscal history. The focus should remain on the records and what they establish.
