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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has explained the controversy over Anambra State’s debt profile, insisting that he did not borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of the state while serving as governor.
Obi, who said the $123.77 million being described as loans left by his administration was a combination of different development financing figures, challenged the Anambra State Government to distinguish between funds approved for development programmes, amounts actually drawn and balances outstanding when he left office.
In a statement on Friday, the former governor said he had remained silent on the controversy while mourning the death of his “beloved brother and friend”, Chief Okey Ezeibe, but decided to respond to issues that had generated public discussion in recent days.
“As Governor of Anambra State, I did not approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue a bond on behalf of the state,” Obi said.
He cited the former Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Abraham Nwankwo, who, according to him, declared at his farewell ceremony that he was the only state governor, who had not approached the DMO for a loan facility during Nwankwo’s 10 years in office.
Obi also said he left office without outstanding salaries, gratuities or pensions, adding that the state did not owe contractors or suppliers whose completed works had been verified and certified by the government.
Explaining the figures at the centre of the controversy, he said the World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) facilities were concessionary development-support funds secured by the Federal Government for participating states, with repayment spread over 25 to 30 years.
He said the various figures could not simply be aggregated and described as loans personally secured by him.
“The Anambra State Government must therefore differentiate among three separate figures: the total amount approved for the multiyear development programme; the amount Anambra State actually drew during my tenure; and the funding balance outstanding when I handed over on 17 March 2014,” he said.
Obi said the eight facilities cited by the state government were primarily World Bank and IFAD development programmes negotiated by the Federal Government and accessed by participating states through subsidiary arrangements.
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“They were not conventional commercial loans that I personally secured during my tenure,” he said.
He, however, acknowledged that the facilities carried repayment obligations, saying each should be examined according to its approval, effectiveness, and drawdown and repayment records.
Obi also questioned the figures attributed to the Anambra government, saying DMO records showed that the state’s external debt stood at about $18 million when he assumed office in March 2006, about $30 million when he left in March 2014 and about $45.15 million by December 2014.
“The Anambra State Government must therefore clarify how a state whose recorded external debt was about US$30 million in March 2014 and US$45.15 million in December 2014 could supposedly have inherited US$123.77 million from Peter Obi, who left office in March of that same year,” he said.
The former governor also disclosed that he left more than $150 million as the dollar component of investments in Anambra, which he said could have generated about $10 million annually for the state.
He said that if the funds had remained untouched, including compound interest and additional income, they would be worth about $335 million today.
“If they had chosen to repay the US$92.35 million funding, the entire amount would have been covered, leaving approximately US$242 million to be reinvested. That sum would have generated about US$20 million annually for Anambra State,” he said.
Beyond the debt controversy, Obi said he was not interested in returning to the governorship, even if the Constitution was amended to permit him to do so.
“I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended,” he said.
He also appealed to governors to allow candidates of other political parties to campaign freely in their states, regardless of their political affiliations.
