The Anambra State Government has again challenged former Governor Peter Obi over his decision to seek the presidency in 2027, accusing him of leaving financial liabilities behind despite his earlier pledge to quit the presidential race if such claims were established.

The state government made the fresh attack in a post on its official X account.

It questioned Obi over his previous challenge to critics to provide evidence that his administration left Anambra in debt.

WHEN WILL PETER OBI QUIT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN?” the government wrote.

It added, “He vowed to quit the presidential race if proven he left Anambra in debt. As governor, he vowed to resign if workers weren’t paid on time. He broke both. He left office in 2014 with heavier arrears. He deceived people. He is LIAR!!”

The latest exchange is part of a dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the financial record of his administration, which lasted from 2006 to 2013 before he handed over power in March 2014.

Recall that the state government earlier released details of loans it said were obtained during Obi’s tenure.

According to the records cited by the state government, Obi’s administration contracted external loans totalling $123.77 million. The government said eight external borrowing facilities connected to projects in healthcare, education, erosion control and agricultural development remained outstanding after Obi left office.

The outstanding balance on the facilities was put at about $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026, which the state government valued at approximately N127.4 billion using the exchange rate it applied.

The disclosure prompted renewed criticism from the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, which asked Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if he could not disprove the allegations.

APC PCC spokesman Dele Alake, who is also the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, said Obi had repeatedly portrayed his administration as financially prudent and had challenged anyone who could establish that he left debts behind to come forward.

Obi has, however, rejected the allegation that he left Anambra with unpaid financial obligations.

The former governor has maintained that his administration inherited substantial arrears from previous administrations and worked to clear them during his tenure.

“We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over N35 billion,” Obi said.

He also insisted that his administration left the state without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts to contractors for completed and certified projects.

“At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified,” he said.

Obi had further challenged his critics to produce evidence to contradict his position, saying, “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”

That statement has now become a major point of contention in the exchange, with the Anambra Government and the APC campaign council arguing that the loan records amount to evidence that his administration left financial obligations for subsequent governments.

The APC PCC has maintained that taking loans for development does not, by itself, amount to wrongdoing. Its argument is that the existence of outstanding borrowing contradicts Obi’s claim that he handed over the state without debt obligations.

“Borrowing is not injudicious if used for development. But for a man who prides himself on being austere and has frequently claimed he left the state with a clean bill of health, the revelations confirmed what has long been held,” the campaign council said.

The loans identified by the state government were reportedly associated with projects including the Malaria Control Booster Project, Third National Fadama Development Project, Health System Development Project, State Education Programme Investment Project, Community and Social Development Project, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project and Value Chain Development Project.

Anambra Commissioner for Information and Value Orientation, Law Mefor, had also argued that the nature or purpose of a loan did not change the fact that it remained a financial obligation.

“First and foremost, a loan is a loan, and whether it is sovereign or not, even an interest-free loan is still a loan,” Mefor said in a television interview.

The state government has also disputed Obi’s claim concerning an ecological fund of about N2.13 billion which he said he left for his successor.

Obi had said the money was released shortly before he left office and was intended for erosion control work in Oko and Umuchiana. He maintained that he did not spend the funds because they were tied to a specific purpose.

According to the former governor, the money remained in a First Bank account when he handed over power and was separate from the more than N75 billion in savings he claimed his administration left behind.

The Anambra Government has disputed that account. Mefor said the account referenced by Obi was not an ecological fund account but an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account.

The commissioner said the state obtained a certified statement of the account and found no evidence of an N2.13 billion balance or an inflow of that amount from 2011, when the account was opened, to the present.

The dispute has also extended to claims concerning workers’ salaries during Obi’s tenure.

Alake cited a memorandum dated April 25, 2006, which he said was written by Obi’s then Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, concerning the payment of workers at the Anambra State Water Corporation.

According to Alake, the memorandum appealed to the governor to address a monthly salary obligation of N15 million involving the corporation’s workers.

The APC PCC used the issue to challenge Obi’s earlier pledge that he would resign if workers were not paid as and when due.

The council argued that the alleged salary arrears were inconsistent with Obi’s claims about his record of ensuring prompt payment of workers during his administration.