Obi rejects Anambra loan claims, says he left office without debt

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has again denied borrowing funds or issuing bonds for Anambra State during his eight-year tenure as governor.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday, Obi responded to claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind loans and other financial liabilities that successive governments have been servicing.

Obi said that when he handed over in March 2014, the state had no outstanding salaries, pensions or gratuities and owed no contractor or supplier whose completed work had been certified and verified.

“Let me categorically state again: I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State in the eight years I was in government,” Obi said.

He added: “On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I headed, was not owing any salary, gratuity, or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government. We were not owing any contractor or supplier who executed his job, certified and verified — not one.”

According to Obi, some of the financial facilities linked to his tenure were concessionary funds secured by the Federal Government and provided to states for specific development programmes.

He pointed to the State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP), under which Anambra, Ekiti and Bauchi were selected for concessionary multilateral support based on their performance in education.

When asked whether the World Bank funding was provided through a Federal Government arrangement, Obi said, “Yes, and the World Bank.”

He continued: “To support us. Not that we go to the World Bank and say give me this, not that we go to any commercial bank. And to even make it more… when it came, if you look at SEPIP, you will see that the drawdown was well after I left office.”

The Anambra State Government has maintained that loans contracted during Obi’s tenure are liabilities of the state and are still being serviced by the government.

But Obi disputed the interpretation, saying that funds that were not drawn should not be classified as debt left behind by his administration.

“Even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money — even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money, but I did not spend the money, you cannot call it debt I left,” he said.

Obi also cited former DMO Director-General Abraham Nwankwo, saying that Nwankwo stated publicly at his send-off ceremony that Obi was the only governor who did not visit his office to obtain approval to borrow money.

The former governor further said his administration’s financial record was available for verification through official records, including the handover report.

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