The Anambra State Government is still servicing loans obtained by previous administrations, including those led by former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, according to Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during an Ndi Anambra podcast shared by the state government’s New Media team.
Okafor explained that while the Soludo administration has not obtained any commercial bank loan since taking office, deductions are still being made from the state’s monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds to repay obligations incurred by previous governments.
He said some of the outstanding loans date back to the administrations of Obi and Obiano, adding that the current government has significantly reduced Anambra’s overall debt burden.
According to the commissioner, the state has cleared several inherited domestic obligations, including unpaid contracts, pension arrears and gratuity liabilities.
He said Anambra’s domestic debt is now close to being fully settled, while repayments on some external loans are automatically deducted from federal allocations in line with the terms attached to the facilities.
Okafor also disclosed that the state recently settled one of its external obligations, identified as CAGS, which he said had created additional financial space for the government.
The commissioner maintained that the Soludo administration has adopted a cautious approach to borrowing and has focused on improving the state’s finances without taking on new commercial debt.
The disclosure is likely to reignite debate over Anambra’s financial position under successive administrations, particularly given previous statements by Peter Obi that his administration did not borrow money from financial institutions while he was governor.
Obi’s former media aide, Valentine Obienyem, had previously maintained that Anambra did not borrow during Obi’s tenure, arguing that the state only guaranteed a loan obtained by farmers and did not draw down a World Bank development loan during his administration.
Available records, however, show that Anambra has carried both domestic and external debt obligations at different points in its history, although the nature and timing of individual liabilities have been subject to political debate.
The latest comments from the state government therefore add a fresh dimension to the long-running debate over the debts inherited by successive administrations in Anambra.
