Anambra Debt: Obi Says He Has No Quarrel With Soludo

Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has said he has no personal disagreement with Governor Chukwuma Soludo despite the continuing controversy over the debt profile he allegedly left behind after completing his tenure in 2014.

Obi made the clarification while responding to questions about recent claims from the Anambra State Government concerning loans linked to his administration. He said the disagreement should be treated as a matter of public records and accountability rather than a personal dispute between himself and Soludo.

The former governor maintained that he left Anambra without unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor obligations. He also insisted that his administration did not borrow from commercial banks or issue bonds during his eight years in office.

The controversy intensified after the state government said external loans associated with Obi’s administration remained part of Anambra’s debt obligations. State Commissioner for Information and Value Orientation Law Mefor said the facilities were connected to development programmes in sectors including education, healthcare, agriculture, malaria control and erosion management.

Obi has argued that multilateral development facilities should be distinguished from conventional commercial borrowing. He said some of the programmes were concessionary facilities involving the Federal Government and international development institutions, while portions of the approved funds were drawn after he had left office.

He further maintained that the existence of an approved facility should not automatically mean the entire amount was borrowed by the government in office when approval was granted. According to him, the amount actually accessed and the dates on which funds were drawn are important when determining the debt attributable to a particular administration.

Despite the competing accounts, Obi said he would not turn the matter into a confrontation with Soludo. He described the governor as someone he respects and stressed that disagreements over figures or government records should not be interpreted as evidence of a personal quarrel between them.

The debate has placed renewed attention on Obi’s eight-year record as Anambra governor and the state’s financial position when he handed over in March 2014. While Obi continues to defend his record and the current state government has presented its own account of outstanding obligations, the competing claims ultimately depend on the documentation, drawdown dates and repayment history of the facilities in dispute.

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