Former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, has released his official handover document to counter claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind outstanding loans and financial liabilities.
The document, dated March 17, 2014, details the financial position of the state at the time he left office, after handing over to his successor, Willie Obiano.
According to the handover note, the Obi administration left a net positive balance of over ₦86 billion in local and foreign currency investments, including cash and fixed deposits, as well as investments in quoted companies.
The release comes days after a document circulating and attributed to the current administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo listed several World Bank and IFAD-assisted projects as loans allegedly taken by the state during Obi’s tenure from 2006 to 2014.
Obi’s supporters argue that the listed projects – including the Malaria Control Booster Project, FADAMA III, Health Systems Development Project II, SEPIP, Community and Social Development Project, NEWMAP and VCDP – were Federal Government borrowings from international development partners where Anambra was only a participating beneficiary state, and not direct state government loans.
Reacting to the controversy, the Anambra State Government has maintained that irrespective of the borrower structure, the financial obligations and counterpart funding linked to the programmes were tied to the state and remain part of its inherited liabilities.
The debate has continued to generate heated reactions on social media, with both camps trading documents and interpretations of World Bank financing records.
As at press time, the State Government is yet to issue a detailed official response to the handover document released by Obi.
