The Anambra State Government has dared former governor Peter Obi to step down from the 2027 presidential race. They accused him of failing to keep important campaign promises about debt and paying workers’ salaries on time.
In a statement on its official X account on Tuesday, the state’s New Media Office asked, "When will Peter Obi quit the presidential campaign?"
The government reminded everyone that Obi had promised to quit the presidential race if he was proven to have left Anambra in debt.
They also pointed out that Obi had pledged, while he was governor, to resign if workers were not paid on time. The state government claimed he broke both promises.
They said, “He (Obi) vowed to quit the presidential race if proven he left Anambra in debt. As governor, he vowed to resign if workers weren’t paid on time. He broke both. He left office in 2014 with heavier arrears.”
The government included a letter dated April 25, 2006, allegedly signed by Chuks Iloegbunam, who was Obi's Chief of Staff at the time. PUNCH Online has not yet confirmed the letter. Efforts are ongoing to get a response from Iloegbunam.
The letter, titled “GUBERNATORIAL PREROGATIVE,” made a “special appeal” to Obi to pay the salary arrears owed to workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation. It listed three reasons for the appeal, including that the corporation's monthly salary bill was about N15 million and that workers had last been paid in February.
The letter read, “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. If the President listens with compassion to your appeals on behalf of the children of Anambra State, I am 200 percent sure that you will hearken to the cries of the children whose parents work for the Water Corporation and end their ordeal. Thank you most sincerely for that.”
The letter went on, “The monthly salary of the Water Corporation comes to something around N15 million every month. Because you have a most busy schedule, I appeal to you to please include the Water Corporation in the league of Government parastatals that are paid through subventions. In this way, the workers will not come to Your Excellency’s office every month to distract your attention on account of unpaid salaries.”
It also mentioned Obi's campaign manifesto, which stated that the governor would resign “if there is any case where workers are not paid as and when due.”
“Your Excellency, Water Corporation workers were last paid in February. Please rectify this anomaly so that you can forge ahead with the good work you are doing,” it concluded.
In a follow-up post, the state government said, “Peter Obi’s former Chief of Staff, Iloegbunam berated him.”
This situation is part of an ongoing argument between Governor Charles Soludo's administration and Obi about the financial state of the state when Obi left office in March 2014. On September 17, the state government, through the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation Dr Law Mefor, released a statement titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.”
The government claimed that Obi left behind outstanding external loans, as well as salary, pension, and gratuity arrears. They said the outstanding balance of eight external borrowings during Obi’s administration was N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, at the official exchange rate.
Mefor stated that Obi borrowed $123.77 million for projects like malaria control, erosion management, education, and healthcare. The current government continues to pay these loans with millions of naira deducted monthly from the state’s federal allocation.
The commissioner added that Obi left verified salary, gratuity, and pension arrears for retired teachers and staff of the Water Corporation. He dismissed Obi’s claim of leaving more than ₦2.13 billion in an ecological fund account at First Bank, UNIZIK branch, Awka, saying the account was an Internally Generated Revenue, Consolidated Revenue Account and had never held such a sum.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, earlier rejected the government's claims. In a statement, he insisted he left without unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities, or obligations to contractors with approved jobs. He said his administration cleared over ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears.
He also promised to stop campaigning for the 2027 presidency if the state government could show proof that he left debts or owed any contractor. The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, later challenged Obi to keep his promise and quit the race, saying the Anambra government presented him with facts and figures.
Obi’s media aide, Idris Zekeri Jnr, called the Presidency’s involvement that of a “meddlesome interloper.” He added that a group of former officials who worked with Obi was preparing a detailed response to the issues raised by the Anambra State Government.
The argument over Anambra State's financial position at the end of Obi’s tenure in 2014 has come up many times since his successor, Willie Obiano, took over. It has gained more attention as the 2027 presidential election approaches.
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇