Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), says he had no outstanding debt in Anambra when he left office as governor of the state.

Obi spoke in a viral video that circulated on Monday while reacting to an earlier claim by the Anambra state government that it is still repaying loans borrowed by previous administrations, including those of Obi and Willie Obiano, his successor.

Obi served as governor of Anambra from March 2006 to March 2014, but his first tenure was interrupted by impeachment in November 2026.

He returned to office after the court overturned the impeachment and served until March 17, 2014, when he handed over power to Obiano.

Speaking on the Voice of Ndi Anambra Podcast posted on Facebook on Monday, Izuchukwu Okafor, commissioner for finance in Anambra, said the state’s monthly federal allocation is still being deducted to service loans incurred the tenures of Obi and Obiano.

Obi, however, faulted the remark, saying his administration never owed any salary, pension or contractor during his tenure.

“As at the day I left office, I was not owing any salary, pension, or gratuity that Anambra state government is supposed to pay,” the NDC presidential candidate said.

“I was not owing any supplier or contractor that had executed his job and his documents processed, not one. The day I left office; I paid what was due to be paid. I wasn’t owing any contractors.”

‘I LEFT N2.1BN ECOLOGICAL FUND IN FIRST BANK’

The former governor also addressed questions surrounding an ecological fund he said was in the state government’s account when he left office.

He said the money was received from the federal government about three months before he left office and was reserved for a specific erosion project.

“The day I left office, I had an account in the First Bank of Nigeria, a branch in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, an ecological fund account with a balance of about N2.1 billion,” he recalled.

“I had it in the bank. And it is not included in the money I left, reason being that it was dedicated specifically for a particular erosion project that was supposed to be ongoing.”

Obi said members of his administration had suggested spending the money before he left office, but he declined because he wanted his successor to have a smooth transition.

“My people were saying, ‘let’s expend this money’. But I kept telling them, government is a continuity and I want the person coming after me to succeed,” Obi said.

He challenged anyone who found discrepancies in the account balance to produce evidence.

“I say it again, if you go to the account, I’m going to give you the account number. I have given you the bank and the branch. If you see anything contrary to the day I left office, I will stop campaigning,” he said.

Obi said Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, and all other governors have the right to support any presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 polls, but said he only demands a free, fair and credible election.

“It’s about over 30 governors today supporting the president. And it is politics and their rights to support whoever they want,” Obi said.

“I’m not urging them to support me. I am only urging them to allow free, fair and credible elections. I’m talking to the people because they have only one vote.”

He said the outcome of the election should be determined by voters rather than governors, adding that when he started his presidential bid in 2023, he never had any councillor in power.

“Today, it is still the same case. The only thing is I am campaigning to be the president of Nigeria,” he said.

“But it is the people of Nigeria that will decide, not the governors, unless they’re going to write the results or rig the election, which is what I’m preaching against.

“Let it be a free, fair and credible election. Whatever the people decide, I will respect it.”