Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has dismissed claims by Governor Chukwuma Soludo that his administration left behind $123 million in debt when it handed over power in 2022.
Obi said the claim failed to distinguish between loan facilities approved for a government and funds actually accessed and spent.
“Even if I had gone to the bank to borrow money but I didn’t spend the money, you cannot call it a debt I left,” Obi said.
He explained that an approved credit facility does not necessarily mean that the entire amount has been drawn by the borrower.
“Assuming I had gone to the bank and said, ‘Bank A, borrow me 10 billion,’ and they gave me a loan of 10 billion naira, I only drew down 500 million. You cannot say I’m owing 10 billion, because you know the amount,” he said.
The former governor said the distinction was important in assessing the financial position of governments, particularly when calculating inherited liabilities.
According to him, public sector accounting should separately identify approved facilities, actual drawdowns and outstanding obligations.
“That’s why I said it is not proper public sector accounting. That’s why I showed the layers,” Obi said.
He maintained that the actual amount accessed from any approved facility should form part of the calculation when determining what a government owes.
Obi also recalled his relationship with former Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, who he said served in the position for about 10 years.
According to Obi, Nwankwo publicly acknowledged his borrowing record at his send-off ceremony after leaving office.
“The day he left office, for his send-forth party, he invited me as the chairman and he announced to everybody at that party that the reason why he made me chairman is because I was the only governor in Nigeria who never came to his office for approval to borrow money,” he said.
Obi said the account was an indication of his administration’s approach to borrowing while he was governor of Anambra State.
He argued that the debate over the state’s debt profile should be based on verifiable financial records showing how much was actually borrowed, how much was drawn and what remained outstanding at the point of handover.
“You cannot say I’m owing 10 billion” when only N500 million was actually drawn from the facility, Obi reiterated.
The former governor’s comments come amid an ongoing disagreement over the financial obligations inherited by the Soludo administration when it assumed office in 2022.
While Soludo has put forward figures on the liabilities inherited by his administration, Obi has challenged the interpretation of some of the figures, particularly the treatment of undrawn loan facilities as outstanding debt.
The dispute has continued to draw attention to how government borrowing and inherited liabilities are calculated and reported in Anambra State.