‘Purge yourself of lies’: APC Campaign Council roars at Peter Obi over Anambra debt, unpaid salaries

By  Paul Dada

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council has accused former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate Peter Obi of misleading Nigerians over his financial record as governor.

This follows fresh revelations concerning loans associated with his administration.

The council, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, said claims that Obi left Anambra State without a debt burden had been contradicted by records released by the state government.

The statement said: “In the past four years, Mr Peter Obi and his supporters packaged Obi’s tenure as Anambra governor as one defined by exceptional fiscal prudence, including the claim that he left Anambra without a debt burden. Obi himself was presented as a squeaky-clean politician.

“But it has all emerged as a well-packaged lie.”

The council was reacting to disclosures by the Anambra State Government after Obi challenged authorities to verify his record in office.

According to the APC council, the state government said Obi’s administration spent about $4.05 billion, equivalent to N5.4 trillion at the current exchange rate, during his eight years in office and contracted $123.77 million in external loans.

The Anambra government has said eight external borrowing facilities remained outstanding when Obi handed over power on March 17, 2014, with the loans covering areas including malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare. The state has also said the outstanding balance on the facilities stood at $92.35 million, or about N127.4 billion, as of June 30, 2026.

The APC Campaign Council said the issue was not whether governments should borrow, but whether Obi’s public claims about his financial record could be reconciled with the records now being presented.

“Borrowing is not injudicious if used for development,” the statement said. “But for a man who prides himself on being austere and has frequently claimed he left the state with a clean bill of health, the revelations confirmed what has long been held.”

The council also accused the former governor of leaving unpaid workers’ salaries and other arrears.

It cited a 2006 memo allegedly written to Obi by his then Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, concerning unpaid salaries owed to workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation.

According to the council, the memo, dated April 25, 2006, appealed to Obi to release the N15 million monthly salary allocation for the workers to avert protests at the Governor’s Office.

The memo quoted Ileogbunam as saying: “Since it is your excellency’s unchanging desire to achieve a better future for our children and children’s children, please, Sir, bear in mind that officials of the Water Corporation also have children who are looking to your compassionate leadership.”

He added: “The President listens with compassion to your appeals on behalf of the children of Anambra. I am 200 per cent sure that you will hearken to the cries of the children whose parents work for the Water Corporation and end their ordeal.”

The APC council further alleged that Obi had promised during his campaign for governor that he would resign if workers were not paid their salaries as and when due.

It linked that pledge to Obi’s more recent challenge over the Anambra debt controversy, saying the former governor had similarly promised to quit the presidential race if it was established that he left the state with a debt burden.

“Just as Obi promised to quit the presidential race if it was proven that he left a debt burden for Anambra State, the letter revealed that Obi had similarly promised Anambra people during his campaign that he would resign as governor ‘if there is any case where workers are not paid as and when due’,” the council said.

It alleged that Obi nevertheless completed his tenure in 2014 and left his successors with financial obligations to address.

The council urged the former governor to address the allegations surrounding his record rather than continue to campaign on what it described as a reputation for fiscal discipline.

“We advise Obi to purge himself of his lies and seek the forgiveness of the Anambra people instead of galloping around platforms, parroting inanities,” the statement said.

The council also questioned Obi’s recent solidarity visit to a person facing an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) trial, describing the case as involving allegations of unexplained wealth and corruption.

The debt controversy has generated competing claims. While the Anambra State Government says eight loan facilities associated with the period remained outstanding, Obi’s camp has rejected the government’s account and disputed the figures.