Onanuga dares Obi to quit presidential race after Anambra govt’s debt ‘evidence’

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has been challenged by Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, to quit the presidential race if claims that his administration left Anambra State with outstanding liabilities are established.

Onanuga’s challenge followed fresh allegations by the Anambra State Government that eight external loans obtained during Obi’s tenure remained outstanding, with the state putting the balance at $92.35m, equivalent to ₦127.37bn, as of June 30, 2026.

The state government also disputed Obi’s claim that he left more than ₦2.13bn untouched in an ecological fund account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis, saying the account he identified was instead an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account.

The allegations were contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, in response to Obi’s recent comments on what he described as “Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy”.

According to Mefor, records from the Debt Management Office showed that the eight external loans contracted during Obi’s administration were still outstanding as of June 30, 2026.

The loans, the government said, were originally valued at $123.77m and covered projects including malaria control, healthcare, education, community development, erosion control and agricultural value-chain development.

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They included the Malaria Control Booster Project, Third National Fadama Development Project, Health System Development Project II, Malaria Control Booster Project (Additional Financing), State Education Programme Investment Project, Community and Social Development Project, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, and Value Chain Development Project.

The state government said it was not opposed to borrowing where such funds were used for viable projects and human capital development, adding that the present administration had continued to service the liabilities.

“We are not complaining. It is good for Anambra once we can show the impacts,” the statement quoted the government as saying.

The government, however, questioned the extent to which Obi’s administration’s spending translated into development, alleging that the former governor left challenges in public water supply, education, healthcare, insecurity and infrastructure.

It claimed that 78 of the state’s 179 communities, representing 44 per cent, did not have public primary schools, while only about 27 per cent of residents patronised public health institutions.

The state government also alleged that Obi left behind unpaid salary, pension and gratuity liabilities. It said the current administration had since cleared about ₦22bn in inherited gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers.

It further claimed that Obi spent about $4.05bn during his eight years in office, which the government said would amount to about ₦5.4tn when converted using the current official exchange rate.

Obi, however, has maintained that his administration cleared more than ₦35bn in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.

He also rejected the claim concerning the ecological fund, saying more than ₦2.13bn remained untouched in a First Bank account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.

Obi had challenged anyone capable of establishing that his account of Anambra’s finances was incorrect, saying, “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”

Reacting to the renewed dispute in a post on X on Wednesday, Onanuga said Obi had previously tied his continued participation in the presidential race to the accuracy of his claims about the state’s finances.

Onanuga wrote, “Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise.”

The presidential aide said the state government had now confronted Obi with figures which he claimed contradicted the former governor’s account of the financial position of Anambra when he left office.

He added, “Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things,” Onanuga said.

“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?” he asked.