A decade-old dispute over the financial state of Anambra has resurfaced, with former Governor Willie Obiano’s account of what he inherited from his predecessor, Peter Obi, coming back into focus.
The renewed controversy follows recent claims by officials of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration that the state is still servicing loans associated with previous administrations.
Obi, who governed Anambra from 2010 to 2014, has maintained that he left office without outstanding debts and saved more than ₦75 billion for the state.
However, statements made by Obiano’s administration after he took over in 2014 presented a different picture of the state’s finances.
What Obiano said he inherited
In November 2015, Obiano’s then-Secretary to the State Government, Professor Solo Chukwulobelu, said the incoming administration found approximately ₦9 billion in cash in the state’s accounts.
He also put the state’s current and contingent liabilities at about ₦185 billion. The figure included existing obligations as well as the potential cost of completing road projects and other contracts inherited from the previous administration.
Obiano later confirmed the ₦9 billion cash figure during a television appearance ahead of the 2017 Anambra governorship election.
According to the former governor, Obi left approximately ₦9 billion in cash and another ₦25.6 billion in investments and other financial assets, including sovereign wealth funds and bank shares.
Obiano said these assets brought the total liquid and near-liquid resources to about ₦35.5 billion. He also alleged that cheques worth more than ₦15 billion had been issued shortly before Obi left office.
Obi disputes the account
Obi has consistently rejected the suggestion that he left Anambra heavily indebted or without substantial funds.
In the latest dispute, he reiterated that he did not leave unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor obligations and maintained that more than ₦75 billion had been saved for the state.
The former governor has also challenged the current Anambra administration to produce evidence supporting claims that his administration left unpaid debts.
Fresh debt controversy
The old handover figures have resurfaced following comments by Anambra Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, who said the Soludo administration was still repaying loans incurred by previous governments.
The state government subsequently released records which it said showed that Obi’s administration contracted eight external loans between 2007 and 2013, totalling about US$123.7 million, with an outstanding balance of about US$92.35 million, equivalent to approximately ₦127.4 billion at the official exchange rate as of June 30, 2026.
The government said the loans were associated with projects covering areas including healthcare, education, malaria control, erosion management and agricultural development.
Obi has disputed the interpretation of the records and maintained that he did not leave Anambra with unpaid debt in the sense alleged by the state government.
The competing accounts have now brought the financial history of the Obi and Obiano administrations back into public discussion, with the two sides presenting different figures concerning cash balances, investments, liabilities and loans at the time of the 2014 transition.
Because the claims concern records from different periods and include both cash assets and contingent liabilities, the figures cited by the various parties do not represent identical categories of government finances.
