Anambra Debt: Presidency dares Peter Obi to honour vow, quit 2027 race

The Presidency has challenged the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, to honour his public pledge and immediately withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, following the publication of official debt records from his tenure as governor of Anambra State.

The challenge was issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, via a statement posted on his official X handle.

Onanuga stated that the Anambra State Government has formally dismantled Obi’s recurring claim of leaving office without debt, presenting documented liabilities that directly contradict his public positions.

According to the presidential aide, the former governor had consistently anchored his political messaging on fiscal prudence, daring critics to produce evidence of debt incurred under his administration on the condition that he would abandon his presidential ambition.

“Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise,” Onanuga wrote.

He continued: “Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things.”

The Presidency’s demand follows an official release by the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor, titled Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.

In that release, the state government published Debt Management Office (DMO) figures showing eight external loan facilities contracted under Obi’s administration totaling $123.77 million. According to the state, currency fluctuations have pushed the remaining balance of those specific facilities to N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.

The state government also cited verified domestic liabilities left behind in March 2014, including unpaid salaries of staff of the defunct State Water Corporation and an unpaid 11-month balance of verified primary school teachers’ arrears.

Seizing on the state’s figures, Onanuga maintained that Obi’s credibility is now on the line regarding his earlier pledge to leave the race if debt records were produced.

“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?” Onanuga asked.