APC Campaign Council: Obi Has Questions To Answer Over Anambra Debt, Salary Arrears
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi of making misleading claims about the financial record of his administration.
The council, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Dele Alake, on Monday, September 21, 2026, said recent disclosures by the Anambra State Government had contradicted Obi’s claim that he left the state without outstanding debt.
The Anambra State Government had said Obi’s administration contracted eight external loans totalling $123.77 million, with about $92.35 million, equivalent to N127.4 billion, still outstanding as of June 30, 2026. The figures were attributed to records from the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The loans, according to the state government, were associated with projects covering malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion control and other development programmes.
Alake said the disclosure had raised questions about Obi’s repeated portrayal of his eight-year tenure as one characterised by exceptional fiscal prudence.
The APC council also alleged that Obi’s administration left salary arrears involving workers of the defunct Anambra Water Corporation.
It cited a 2006 memo purportedly written by Obi’s then Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, pleading with the governor to pay N15 million in monthly salaries owed to Water Corporation workers to avert protests.
The council further alleged that the salary arrears persisted beyond Obi’s tenure and were among liabilities subsequently addressed by later administrations.
The Anambra Government has separately said it negotiated a settlement for outstanding Water Corporation salary arrears and had begun instalment payments.
Alake argued that borrowing for development was not inherently wrong, but maintained that the issue was significant because Obi had publicly claimed that he left Anambra without a debt burden.
The APC spokesman therefore challenged Obi to honour what the council described as his previous pledge to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if it was established that he left liabilities behind in Anambra.
“Indeed, if Peter Obi has any honour, he must resign from the 2027 presidential race forthwith,” Alake said.
Obi has rejected the Anambra Government’s allegations, maintaining that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts owed to contractors for duly executed and certified projects.
The dispute over the financial legacy of Obi’s administration has therefore become a major political issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
