Anambra govt challenges Obi over $150m savings, $123.77m debt

The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor Peter Obi’s claim that he left more than $150 million in savings for the state, arguing that government should prioritise the welfare and development of citizens over accumulating funds in banks.

The state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, made the argument in a statement on Saturday while responding to the renewed dispute between the government and Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), over the state’s finances.

Mefor also accused Obi of failing to disclose some of the debts allegedly incurred by his administration in the handover documents when he left office in 2014.

The dispute followed the state government’s claim that Obi left $123.77 million in debt at the end of his eight-year tenure. The government said the loans were obtained to finance projects in areas including malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development and value chain development.

He said the dollar component of the funds was invested in bonds and generated about $10 million annually for the state.

“As at the time I left office, the dollar components of my savings invested in various bonds were over $150 million, which gives Anambra state guaranteed income of about $10 million yearly,” Obi said.

He argued that even if the alleged $123.7 million debt existed when he left office, the funds he saved could have been used to service and repay the debt while preserving the principal.

“If I left over $150 million that was earning about $10 million,” he said, the debt could have been repaid while the principal remained intact and continued generating income for the state.

Obi has rejected the claim, insisting that he left more than $150 million in Anambra’s treasury.