Peter Obi Releases Details of $150M Funds Left in Anambra, Speaks on Debt
- Peter Obi disclosed during an Arise News interview that he left dollar savings worth over $150 million invested in bonds when he left office in 2014
- The Anambra State Government had claimed Obi's administration left behind eight external financing facilities with an outstanding balance of $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026
- Obi disputed the debt figure, saying it misrepresented how much was actually drawn down during his tenure and that his savings would have covered any liability
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, has pushed back against claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind external debt obligations of $123.77 million, saying the funds he kept in the state more than covered any such figure.
Obi made his position clear during an interview on Arise News on Thursday, September 24 saying the state's accounting of his tenure was misleading and did not reflect the financial assets he left behind.
Source: Facebook
The Anambra government had said eight external financing facilities linked to development projects undertaken between 2007 and 2013, under Obi's watch, carried a combined original value of $123.77 million, with an outstanding balance of $92.35 million, about N127.4 billion, as of June 30, 2026.
The facilities covered areas including education, healthcare, malaria control, erosion management, community development and agricultural support.
Obi says savings outweighed any debt
Obi also released a stateement on X to reiterated the points and noted that the dollar savings his administration accumulated and invested in bonds at the time of his departure totalled more than $150 million, generating a guaranteed annual return of roughly $10 million for the state.
He said:
“As at the time I left office, the dollar components of my savings invested in various bonds were over $150 million, which gives Anambra State guaranteed income of about $10 million yearly."
He argued that even accepting the state's debt figure at face value, the investments he left would have been more than sufficient to clear the liability while preserving the principal.
He said:
“If they just kept the money that I left and were using the income to pay the loan, they would have finished paying it now, with the capital of $150 million still remaining, and still giving Anambra State $10 million annually."
Obi rejects loan classification
Beyond the numbers, Obi also challenged how the facilities were described, insisting they were not loans his administration personally arranged with financial institutions.
He said:
“I told you these are not loans. I didn't go to the bank."
He explained that some of the financing came through concessionary multilateral programmes facilitated by the Federal Government, including support channelled through the World Bank.
Obi said Anambra was selected alongside Ekiti and Bauchi states because of their performance in education.
He also said the $123.77 million figure represented the total value of the financing facilities rather than the amount his administration actually drew down.
Source: Getty Images
Obi described the presentation of the figure as “very wrong public accounting” and put Anambra's actual external debt position when he left office at closer to $30 million.
The Anambra government has maintained its position that the eight facilities were contracted during Obi's tenure and that the state continues to service the outstanding obligations.
Obi also said he handed over without leaving unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or verified debts owed to contractors.
Lagos, Rivers top Nigeria’s debt charts
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Lagos and Rivers States have emerged among the top indebted subnational governments in Nigeria as new data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) shows a sharp rise in both domestic and external debt between 2024 and 2025.
Analysis showed that states debt profile revealed that total external debt rose to $51.81 billion in 2025, up from $45.78 billion in 2024.
While domestic debt across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) increased to N4.36 trillion, compared to N3.97 trillion in 2024.
Source: Legit.ng
