The argument over what Peter Obi left behind in Anambra State when he handed over power has returned to the political spotlight, and this time the former governor is putting his own presidential ambition on the line.
Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has rejected claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind outstanding financial obligations, including a controversial ₦2 billion ecological fund.
Rather than simply dismissing the allegations, Obi has issued a challenge: prove the claims against him, and he will stop campaigning for the 2027 presidency.
The former governor made the declaration in a personally signed statement on Tuesday, as he responded to renewed claims about the financial position of the state at the end of his administration.
The debt controversy that reopened an old debate
The latest dispute followed comments by Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, who said the state was still dealing with financial obligations inherited from previous administrations.
Speaking on the Ndi Anambra podcast released by the state government’s New Media team, Okafor said the inherited commitments included loans obtained under previous governors, including Obi and Willie Obiano.
The commissioner maintained that the Chukwuma Soludo administration had deliberately avoided taking fresh commercial bank loans since assuming office, choosing instead to concentrate on meeting existing financial obligations and reducing the state’s debt burden.
That explanation, however, did not sit well with Obi.
The former governor described the allegations against his administration as false and moved quickly to provide his own account of the state’s finances at the point he left office.
Obi: ‘This is completely false’
Obi said his administration did not leave behind unpaid salaries, gratuities or pensions.
He also rejected the suggestion that contractors were owed money for projects that had been properly executed and certified.
“This is completely false,” Obi said while responding to the claims.
According to the former governor, his administration had gone beyond simply maintaining regular payments, arguing that it systematically cleared historical obligations that had accumulated before his tenure.
He said those arrears included gratuities and other liabilities dating back several years and amounted to more than ₦35 billion.
“At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified,” he stated.
The claim places the latest controversy squarely within a familiar Nigerian political argument: what exactly does one administration inherit, what does it leave behind, and who gets to tell the story when political leadership changes hands?
The mystery surrounding the ₦2bn ecological fund
At the heart of the dispute is the ₦2 billion ecological fund, which Obi said should not be confused with an outstanding loan or liability.
According to him, the money was released only about three months before the end of his administration to address the erosion crisis affecting Oko and Umuchiana.
Obi said there was pressure to spend the money before leaving office, but he deliberately chose not to do so because it had been released for a specific purpose.
He argued that the incoming government should inherit the funds and continue with the project rather than having the money spent simply because his tenure was approaching its end.
“Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project,” he said.
That decision, he argued, was evidence that the money was not lost or converted but deliberately preserved for the purpose for which it was released.
Obi reveals where he says the money was kept
To strengthen his response, Obi went a step further by identifying the bank where he said the ecological funds remained.
He disclosed that the money was kept in First Bank, in an account with a balance of more than ₦2.13 billion.
“The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. [redacted in publication], with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion,” Obi stated.
He further claimed that the ecological fund was separate from the savings he said his administration left behind.
According to him, his government also left more than ₦75 billion in savings, excluding funds already earmarked for specific projects.
The disclosure has added another dimension to the political dispute, with Obi effectively inviting scrutiny of the financial records surrounding the end of his administration.
‘If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning’
Perhaps the strongest part of Obi’s response was not the figures he presented but the political wager attached to them.
The former governor said he was prepared to abandon his 2027 presidential campaign if anyone could establish the allegations being made against his administration.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi declared.
It is a striking challenge from a politician preparing for another presidential contest and seeking to make accountability a central part of his political message.
But it also raises a broader question: can disputes over the financial records of past administrations be settled by political claims, or should the final word come from independently verifiable government records and audits?
For Obi, the answer appears to be in the records.
A familiar battle returns ahead of 2027
The dispute is unlikely to remain confined to Anambra’s finances.
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Obi’s record as governor has long been part of the political narrative surrounding his presidential ambitions, with supporters pointing to his stewardship of the state while critics have continued to question aspects of his administration.
As the 2027 election approaches, such arguments are likely to intensify.
For now, Obi has chosen to confront the latest allegations head-on, offering figures, identifying where he says the ecological money was kept and attaching an unusually high political price to any proof that his account is wrong.
The controversy, therefore, is no longer simply about whether Anambra inherited a debt.
It has become a test of competing narratives about what was left behind, where the money went and whose version of the state’s financial history Nigerians should believe.
And Obi, for his part, is saying he is willing to put his presidential campaign on the line.