The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has called on former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi to honour his earlier pledge to withdraw from the presidential race if it is established that his administration left debts behind in the state.
The campaign council made the demand on Monday through a statement issued by its spokesman and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, following fresh disclosures by the Anambra State Government on the state’s financial position when Obi left office in 2014.
According to the APC council, records released by the state government showed that Obi’s administration contracted $123.77 million in external loans during his eight-year tenure as governor. It also said the loans were used for projects and programmes covering areas such as healthcare, education, erosion control and malaria prevention.
The council further relied on figures from the Anambra government, which said Obi’s administration spent about $4.05 billion during its eight years in office. It added that eight external borrowings were still linked to the state when Obi handed over power on March 17, 2014.
The APC campaign council argued that borrowing itself was not necessarily wrong when funds were used for development. However, it said the reported loans raised questions about Obi’s previous claim that he left Anambra without a debt burden.
The controversy followed a recent exchange between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the financial position of the state at the end of his administration. Obi has rejected the government’s claims and maintained that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in inherited gratuities and arrears before leaving office. He also said he left the state without unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities.
Another issue in the dispute concerns about N2.13 billion which Obi said was left untouched in a First Bank account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion project. He had argued that the money was reserved for the specific project and was not part of the funds available for general spending.
The Anambra State Government, however, disputed that account. Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said the account identified by Obi was not an ecological fund account and that certified records obtained by the government did not show the alleged N2.13 billion balance.
The state government has also said Anambra is still servicing loans inherited from previous administrations. It previously reported that the outstanding balance of eight external loans linked to Obi’s administration stood at N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, using the official exchange rate.
The APC campaign council also raised questions about claims concerning workers’ salaries during Obi’s tenure. It referred to an earlier memo from his administration concerning unpaid workers at the state Water Corporation and alleged that salary arrears remained an issue during his time in office.
The council further recalled Obi’s reported promise to withdraw from the presidential race if evidence emerged that his administration had left debts or unpaid obligations in Anambra.
Obi had earlier challenged anyone disputing his account of the state’s finances to provide evidence and said he would stop his 2027 campaign if it was established that he had left the state with the liabilities being alleged.
The latest demand from the APC campaign council has therefore added a political dimension to the continuing dispute over Anambra’s finances under Obi’s administration.
The former governor has maintained that his financial record in Anambra was being misrepresented, while the state government has continued to present documents and figures that it says contradict his account.
The dispute remains centred on whether the loans and other liabilities identified by the Anambra government should be regarded as debts left by Obi’s administration and whether those obligations are consistent with his claim that he handed over a financially stable state.
The issue has continued to attract attention as Obi prepares for the 2027 presidential election, with both sides presenting different accounts of the state’s finances at the end of his tenure.