The All Progressives Congress (AC) Presidential Campaign Council has challenged the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to honour his reported pledge to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if it is established that he left Anambra State with outstanding financial liabilities.
The challenge followed fresh disclosures by the Anambra State Government on external loans contracted during Obi’s eight-year tenure as governor of the state.
In a statement on Monday, APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesman, Dele Alake, said the figures released by the state government contradicted Obi’s repeated claim that he left Anambra without a debt burden when he handed over power in March 2014.
According to the Anambra State Government, Obi’s administration contracted $123.77 million in external loans across eight facilities, with $92.35 million, equivalent to about N127.37 billion, outstanding as of June 30, 2026. The loans were reportedly obtained for projects covering malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development and agricultural development.
The state government has also said subsequent administrations continued servicing the loans.
Alake said the disclosures had raised questions about Obi’s claims regarding the financial position he left behind.
“Borrowing is not injudicious if used for development,” Alake said, while arguing that the issue was whether the former governor’s claims about leaving the state without outstanding liabilities were consistent with the records now presented by the Anambra government.
The APC campaign council also cited figures attributed to the Anambra government showing that about $4.05 billion was spent during Obi’s eight years in office.
Alake further raised questions over alleged unpaid obligations to some workers during Obi’s tenure, citing a 2006 memo purportedly written by the former governor’s then-Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam.
According to the APC spokesman, the memo sought the release of N15 million monthly to settle salaries of workers of the Anambra Water Corporation and avert a planned protest.
Alake said the document raised questions about Obi’s reported claim that workers were paid as and when due.
He also linked the issue to what he described as a pledge by Obi during his campaign for the Anambra governorship that he would resign if workers were not paid when due.
The APC campaign council consequently challenged Obi to apply what it described as the same standard to his current presidential ambition.
“If it is proven that he left a debt burden for Anambra State,” the council said, Obi should withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest.
The development is part of an ongoing dispute over the financial record of Obi’s administration in Anambra.
Obi has disputed the state government’s debt claims, maintaining that he left office in 2014 without outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or payments owed to contractors for completed and certified projects.
The former governor has also challenged the Anambra State Government to substantiate its claims concerning liabilities allegedly left by his administration.
The APC campaign council, however, insisted that Obi should address the newly released figures and account for the financial obligations associated with his tenure as the controversy continues to feature prominently in political discussions ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
