The Presidency has challenged former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi to withdraw from the presidential race if records establish that his administration left unpaid financial obligations when it left office in 2014.
The challenge was issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, following an escalating dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s financial position at the end of his tenure.
Obi had recently challenged his critics to produce evidence that his administration left behind unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or contractor debts.
The former governor maintained that his administration settled more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears before handing over power. He also disputed claims concerning an ecological fund allegedly held in a First Bank account.
Obi said more than ₦2.13 billion had been left in the account for an erosion-control project covering Oko and Umuchiana. He argued that the money was deliberately preserved for the incoming administration because it had been released for a specific purpose.
The former governor had also declared that he would stop campaigning if anyone could establish evidence contradicting his account of the state’s finances.
However, the Anambra State Government has rejected aspects of Obi’s account.
The state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, reportedly disputed Obi’s description of the First Bank account, saying it was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account rather than an ecological fund account.
Mefor further claimed that certified transaction records obtained by the state did not show the amount Obi said was held in the account. He said the account had existed since 2011 and that the claimed ₦2.13 billion had not appeared either as an inflow or balance.
The disagreement has now drawn the Presidency into the controversy, with Onanuga urging Obi to honour his earlier pledge if the state government’s evidence establishes that liabilities were left behind.
The development comes as Obi campaigns for the presidency ahead of the 2027 general election, making his record as Anambra governor an increasingly prominent subject of political debate.
Obi has consistently presented his tenure in Anambra as evidence of prudent financial management and has challenged opponents to substantiate allegations against his administration with documentary evidence.
The Anambra Government, however, has maintained a different position regarding some of the financial obligations inherited by subsequent administrations.
The controversy has therefore shifted from political claims to questions over documentary records, bank transactions and the financial position of the state at the 2014 handover.
With the dispute continuing, the production and verification of official financial documents could become central to resolving the conflicting accounts.
For now, the Presidency’s call for Obi to withdraw remains tied to its interpretation of the evidence presented by the Anambra Government, while Obi continues to dispute the allegations against his administration.
