The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if evidence released by the state establishes that his administration left behind unpaid salaries and other financial liabilities.
The challenge followed an escalating dispute between the state government and Obi over the financial position of Anambra at the end of his tenure in March 2014.
The state government, through its New Media Office, on Tuesday asked when Obi would withdraw from the presidential contest, recalling his recent statement that he would stop campaigning if anyone could prove that he left debts or unpaid obligations behind when he left office.
As part of its latest response, the government released a letter dated April 25, 2006, which it said was signed by Chuks Iloegbunam, then Chief of Staff to Obi. The letter, titled “GUBERNATORIAL PREROGATIVE,” appealed to the former governor to address salary arrears owed to workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation.
The document stated that the corporation's workers had last received their salaries in February and that the monthly wage bill was about N15 million. It appealed to Obi to place the corporation among government agencies receiving regular subventions so that the salary situation could be addressed.
The letter also referred to a provision in Obi's campaign manifesto under which he pledged to resign if workers were not paid as and when due. The Anambra government has cited the document as evidence that salary arrears existed during Obi's administration.
The state government has also previously released information on eight external loans that it attributed to the Obi administration. According to the government's account, the loans were contracted between 2007 and 2013 and had an outstanding balance of $92.35 million as of June 2026, which it valued at about N127.4 billion at the applicable official exchange rate.
The loans, according to the state, were connected to projects including malaria control, erosion management, education, healthcare and agricultural development. The government said the figures were derived from the latest debt information from the Debt Management Office.
Obi has rejected the claims. He has maintained that he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or liabilities to contractors whose work had been completed and certified. He also said his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears.
The former governor has challenged the Anambra government and other critics to produce verifiable evidence contradicting his account, saying he would stop campaigning for the presidency if such evidence were established.
The dispute has also drawn the attention of the Presidency. Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, challenged Obi to honour his pledge following the release of the state government's records.
The disagreement comes as political activity ahead of the 2027 presidential election intensifies. Obi is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, while the competing political interests involved in the dispute have continued to debate his record as Anambra governor.
The latest document released by the state provides additional material for the disagreement over salary arrears, but the competing claims remain contested. The authenticity and full context of the 2006 letter could not immediately be independently established, and the claims concerning the financial liabilities remain subject to the responses and evidence presented by the parties involved.
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