* ‘He left behind stated savings,’ — Abia gov * ‘Obi left state debt-free,’ says ex-President
By Charles Olewezi
A video now circulating online of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, defending former Anambra State Governor and Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi has reignited the long-standing debate over Anambra’s finances after the expiration of Obi’s tenure in 2014.
In the video, Otti says: “Peter Obi actually left the money he said he left.”
Otti, who was the then Managing Director of Diamond Bank when Obi was governor, said he can confirm Obi left $50 million each in Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank and Access Bank – $150m to $155m in total. According to him, he personally helped Obi secure the funds in Eurobonds as Tier-2 capital for the banks, with some investments having maturities up to 2023. He added that Obi did not borrow from any financial institution.
The video, originally from a Labour Party South East stakeholders summit in Enugu State and a 2017 Lagos State business forum, resurfaced on Wednesday after the X handle VoiceOfTheEast posted it.
Also gone viral is another video where former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, praised Obi for preparing to handover Anambra State to his successor, Willie Obiano, without any debt.
He was quoted in the video to have said, “Anambra State is one of the states that is not owing anybody, I don’t know if there is any other one that is not owing anybody. The resources have been prudently managed, maybe we need to invite the bankers to come and access it. He has been able to manage his state in a way that he is not leaving any liability for the incoming administration.”
This was Jonathan’s comment in 2014 when Obi was handing over to his successor, Willie Obiano.
The two videos re-emerged in the middle of a fresh fight between Obi and the Anambra State Government.
It started when Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, said on a government podcast that the state is still servicing loans from Obi and Willie Obiano’s administrations.
Obi fired back this week in a Voice of Ndi Anambra Podcast interview and on his X account. He said as at the day he left office on March 17, 2014, he was not owing any salary, pension, gratuity, supplier or contractor whose job was certified. He said his administration cleared over N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears, left N75 billion cash plus $155 million investments, and left N2.1 billion ecological fund in First Bank, UNIZIK branch, released by the Federal Government three months to his exit for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis which he refused to spend.
He then threw a challenge: “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning”.
Anambra Government, through Commissioner for Information Dr Law Mefor, replied that the account 2018779464 Obi cited is not an ecological fund account but an Internally Generated Revenue – Consolidated Revenue Account and that bank records never showed N2.1 billion inflow. It said Governor Soludo’s administration had to clear about N22 billion in gratuity arrears inherited from previous administrations.
The Presidency had seized the opportunity of the debt row to ask Peter Obi to step down from the 2027 presidential election. Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X on Wednesday September 16, dared Obi to honour his quit threat.
”Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise. Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers,” Onanuga wrote.
He asked: “The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?”
The presidency challenge comes amid wider pressure on Obi over 2027.
Obi himself alleged two months ago at Madonna University Okija that “everything is being done to ensure that Peter Obi won’t be on the ballot next year.
”Today, everything is being done to ensure that Peter Obi won’t be on the ballot next year. But I tell you, they won’t succeed”.
In the last three weeks, a pro-Tinubu group, Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria, said it is planning to meet Ohanaeze Ndigbo to appeal to Obi to withdraw from 2027 and support Tinubu’s re-election. At the same time, opposition coalition G-100 has been pushing Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Seyi Makinde to step down for a consensus candidate, a move all three have resisted.
For now, the Anambra debt controversy has moved from a state finance argument to a major 2027 campaign litmus test – with Governor Otti’s old video and that of former President Jonathan now being used as Obi’s strongest defence.