Government exists to improve citizens’ welfare, not save money and earn interest – Anambra Govt tells Obi

The Anambra government says Peter Obi, the former governor, prioritised savings in banks when the state was grappling with poverty, insecurity and major infrastructure deficits during his eight-year tenure.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Law Mefor, commissioner for information and value reorientation, also accused Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, of concealing his administration’s debts in the handover note when he left office in 2014.

The latest statement escalates the heated exchange between the Anambra state government and Obi over disputed loans and other financial obligations allegedly left behind by his administration.

The state government has repeatedly said Obi left $123.77 million in debt at the end of his tenure, and that the loans were obtained for projects, including malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development, and value chain development.

But Obi has consistently denied the claim, maintaining that he left more than $150 million in Anambra’s treasury at the end of his tenure.

He argued that the funds were more than sufficient to offset the loans the state government claimed his administration left behind.

“As at the time I left office, the dollar components of my savings invested in various bonds were over $150 million, which gives Anambra state guaranteed income of about $10 million yearly,” Obi said.

“Let me assume the worst-case scenario — which is false — that there was $123.7 million owed as of the time I left. I left over $150 million that was earning about $10 million.”

Obi said if the money he left behind had been retained and its interest used to service the loan, the debt would have been fully repaid by now, while the $150 million principal would have remained intact and continued to generate about $10 million annually for Anambra state.

On Friday, the Anambra state government released documents alleging that Obi’s administration also left N363 million in salary arrears owed to workers, in addition to other outstanding debts.

‘GOVERNMENT DOESN’T EXIST TO SAVE’

In the latest statement, Mefor questioned Obi’s claim of savings during his administration, saying government exists to “improve the security and welfare of the people, and not to save money and earn interest”.

The commissioner said the issue was not whether Obi saved money, but whether saving funds and earning interest should have been prioritised when citizens were facing poverty, insecurity, and inadequate public services.

Mefor alleged that there were widespread development gaps during the period Obi was governor, including poor infrastructure, weak public health and education systems, lack of piped water and more than 900 active gully erosion sites.

He also claimed that 78 of the state’s 179 communities had no public primary schools, while many lacked functional primary healthcare facilities, adding that targeted investment in human capital and infrastructure could yield greater social and economic returns than the financial interest generated by keeping money in banks.

The commissioner contrasted Obi’s savings argument with the subsequent use of some of the funds by his successor, Willie Obiano, saying that investments in development helped pull millions of people out of poverty and improve security before the escalation of attacks by unknown gunmen in the south-east from 2021.

“How much money would H.E. Peter Obi ascribe to the lives of the millions of people pulled out of poverty? Please, Your Excellency, Peter Obi: governance and development are different from trading where everything is primarily about profit and loss account without much consideration for human life,” Mefor said.

“Indeed, if government savings and interest income constitute an indicator of governance performance, perhaps it should have been one of the MDGs or SDGs, and governments would start competing as to who saves the most rather than who improves the security and welfare of the people the most.”

Mefor said Obi’s celebration of the savings and interest income, amid hardship, might generate temporary public approval but represented an unfortunate economic argument, except where such savings were used to smooth revenue volatility over time.(TheCable)