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The Obidient Movement, yesterday, released a 2014 financial handover document signed by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi, amidst the ongoing dispute over the Anambra State’s debts, liabilities, and financial position when Obi left office as the state governor.
National Coordinator of the movement, Yunusa Tanko, shared the document on X, on Wednesday, presenting it as evidence of the financial position of Anambra State, at the end of Obi’s administration.
Dated March 17, 2014, the document was addressed by Obi to his successor, Willie Obiano, and contained a summary of the state’s finances as of the close of business on March 14, 2014, the final working day of Obi’s administration.
The document showed that Obi listed local investments worth N27 billion, foreign currency investment of US$156 million valued at N26.5 billion, certified state and Ministries, Departments and Agencies balances of N28.166 billion, and an N10 billion Federal Government-approved refund.
The document showed that the combined value of the listed funds and investments was put at N91.666 billion.
The document also identified estimated liabilities of N5 billion, covering March salaries, pensions, gratuities, and approved certificates for projects already executed. After the deduction, the report stated that the state had a net balance of N86.666 billion.
In the covering letter to Obiano, Obi wrote: “As Friday, March 14, 2014 was the final working day of my administration, I also forward, herewith, the summary of the full financial statement of Anambra State as at close of business on that day.”
The document was released amid a fresh war of words between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the financial obligations inherited by successive administrations.
The former governor has consistently denied leaving unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities, or liabilities to contractors for duly executed and certified projects. He had challenged the state government to prove otherwise, saying, “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
However, the state government has insisted that Obi left outstanding financial obligations behind after handing over power, including unpaid loans.
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Anambra Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, on Wednesday, disputed Obi’s account of an ecological fund allegedly left in a First Bank account. He said the state government obtained a certified statement for First Bank account number 2018779464, which Obi had identified as the account where the funds were kept. The commissioner said the account was an internally generated revenue consolidated revenue account rather than an ecological fund account.
“We have obtained a certified printout of the account from inception to date. The account is an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, not an ecological fund account,” Mefor said.
He added that the account did not capture the N2.13 billion allegedly left by Obi, adding that from 2011, when the account was opened until date, there was no such amount—whether as inflow or balance—in the account,” he said.
Mefor, therefore, challenged Obi to disclose where the N2.13 billion he claimed to have left for his successor was kept.
Obi had earlier said the money was released about three months before the end of his administration to address the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis. He said he resisted pressure to spend the money on other purposes because it was tied to a specific project, insisting that the funds remained intact in First Bank when he left office.
The commissioner also disputed the former governor’s position on inherited loans, claiming that eight external loans remained outstanding when Obi left office on March 17, 2014. Mefor put the outstanding balance on the loans at N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the official exchange rate.
The loans cited included those for malaria control, the Third National Fadama Development Project, Health System Development Project II, the State Education Programme Investment Project, Community and Social Development Project, the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project and the Value Chain Development Project.
On salaries and gratuities, Mefor claimed that the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears, while some legacy obligations remained. He specifically cited arrears involving retired teachers and former employees of the Water Corporation.
Mefor further alleged that Obi’s administration had verified and certified 16 months of salary arrears owed primary school teachers, but paid only five months. The commissioner also questioned Obi’s claim that his administration left more than N75 billion in savings.
