Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has maintained that his administration left no outstanding salaries, gratuities, pensions or verified contractor payments when he handed over office.
Obi made the declaration during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday while responding to allegations concerning loans and financial liabilities linked to his eight years as governor.
He insisted that his administration neither approached any financial institution to obtain loans nor issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State.
“I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State.”
The former governor further stated that all salaries, pensions and gratuities due for payment by the state government had been settled before he left office.
“On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I served, was not owing any salary, gratuity or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government,” he stated.
“We were not owing any contractor or supplier who had executed his job, certified and verified. Not one,” he added.
Obi explained that payments for unfinished projects could not be classified as outstanding debts until the contractors had completed their assignments and the government had verified and certified the work in accordance with their agreements.
Addressing the disagreement between his administration and the current Anambra State Government over alleged loans and liabilities, Obi said he did not regard the matter as a personal dispute with Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
He described Soludo as the governor of his home state and maintained that he respected him.
Obi also appealed to state governors to provide a level playing field for all presidential candidates during the 2027 election campaigns.
He stressed that Nigerians should be allowed to freely determine who they want to lead the country.
The former governor urged political leaders to prioritise the economic challenges and hardships confronting Nigerians rather than engage in what he described as unnecessary distractions.
