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The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has maintained that he neither borrowed money nor issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight-year tenure as governor.
Obi stated this while speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, where he said his administration left office in March 2014 without outstanding salaries, gratuities or pensions.
He also said the state was not indebted to contractors whose projects had been completed, certified and verified before he left office.
The former governor was responding to recent claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind outstanding debts and other liabilities that successive governments have had to service.
“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.
“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,” he said.
Obi said the loans being attributed to his administration were not funds he personally obtained from financial institutions, arguing that some of the funding arrangements were supported by the Federal Government.
“I didn’t go to obtain it. But what I’m saying, assuming that your father left you with inheritance of 100 million, and suddenly somebody comes up and say your father is owing 10 million. Are you going to go to the market and say your father left you with debts? Unless there’s another thing, you’ll be unfair,” he said.
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He explained that the Federal Government had selected Anambra, Ekiti and Bauchi states to receive concessionary multilateral support because of their performance in education.
“There’s a difference between I went to the bank to borrow money, then federal government sees, ‘Oh, this state is doing well in education.’ They selected Anambra, Ekiti, and Bauchi and said, ‘These three states are doing well. Why don’t we give them a concessionary multi-lateral support to help them?’”
Obi said the funding, which involved the World Bank, was not obtained by Anambra from a commercial bank.
“Yes, and the World Bank,” Obi said, when the interviewer asked whether the funding was a decision by the Federal Government to provide support.
“To support us. Not that we go to 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 State Education Program Investment Project (SEPIP), you will see that the drawdown was well after I left office.”
He added that even if the entire amount in question had been drawn down, there would have been sufficient funds left to cover it.
“I’ve assumed the whole and said even if that was the case, there was enough left to pay it, and the state will still be at the best financial standing,” he said.
