BREAKING: Peter Obi responds to Anambra debt controversy, disputes $123.77m liability

Politics

AWKA, Nigeria (NPA) — The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has responded to the controversy over Anambra State’s debt profile, disputing the state government’s description of about $123.77 million in multilateral development financing as debt left by his administration.

Obi, in a statement titled “On the Anambra Debt Question,” said he had remained silent in recent days while mourning the death of his elder brother and friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe.

He urged Nigerians to focus on the challenges confronting the country and said he had no disagreement with Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, or any other governor.

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Obi also urged governors to allow presidential and other political candidates to campaign freely in their states, saying voters should ultimately decide who represents them.

Addressing the debt controversy, the former Anambra governor said he did not borrow from any financial institution or issue a bond on behalf of the state during his tenure.

He cited the then Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Abraham Nwankwo, whom he said described him at his farewell ceremony as the only state governor during Nwankwo’s 10-year tenure who had not approached the DMO for a loan facility.

Obi also said that when he left office, Anambra owed no unpaid salaries, gratuities or pensions, and had no outstanding payments to contractors or suppliers whose completed work had been verified and certified by the government.

On the multilateral financing, Obi said World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) programmes cited by the Anambra Government were concessionary development funds secured by the Federal Government for selected states and accessed through subsidiary arrangements.

He said the state government should distinguish between the total amount approved for a multiyear programme, the amount actually drawn by Anambra during his tenure and the balance outstanding when he handed over on March 17, 2014.

Obi said the state government had combined those categories and described the resulting $123.77 million as “loans left by Peter Obi”, which he described as an incorrect application of public-sector accounting.

“The eight facilities identified were primarily World Bank and IFAD development programs negotiated by the Federal Government, with participating states receiving access to the funds through subsidiary arrangements. They were not conventional commercial loans that I personally secured during my tenure,” he said.

He, however, acknowledged that the state had repayment obligations, saying each facility should be assessed based on its approval, effectiveness, drawdown and repayment records.

Obi also questioned the figures attributed to Anambra’s external debt, citing DMO records which, according to him, showed the state’s external debt at about $18 million when he assumed office in March 2006, about $30 million when he left office in March 2014 and approximately $45.15 million as of Dec. 31, 2014.

He asked the state government to explain how Anambra could have inherited $123.77 million from his administration in March 2014 if the state’s recorded external debt at the time was about $30 million.

Obi further claimed that he left more than $150 million as the dollar component of his investment in Anambra State and said the funds could have generated about $10 million annually if they had remained untouched.

He argued that over 13 years, the projected income would have been sufficient to offset the alleged liability.

Obi also presented a hypothetical calculation that retaining the funds, including compound interest and additional income, could have raised their value to approximately $335 million, saying repayment of the $92.35 million outstanding funding would still have left about $242 million for reinvestment.

He said the reinvested funds could have generated about $20 million annually for the state.

The former governor maintained that he left Anambra in a strong financial position, describing it as the strongest of any state in Nigeria.

“Through this clarification, I wish to state categorically that I will neither engage nor trade words with anyone regarding my tenure in Anambra State. My focus will now be on issues affecting the suffering Nigerian masses, which is the reason for my presidential ambition,” Obi said.