FACT CHECK: Did Obi’s Administration Owe $123.77m As Anambra Govt Claimed?

Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, left office on March 17, 2014, after completing his second term, and handed over power to Willie Obiano.
‎
‎The amount of debt allegedly left by Obi’s administration has become a subject of controversy following claims by the Anambra State Government that eight external borrowing facilities linked to projects executed during his tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
‎
‎Obi rejected the description of the $123.77 million as debt he left behind. He argued that the figure represented the combined value of the facilities and should not be confused with the amount actually drawn or outstanding when he left office.
‎
‎According to Obi, Anambra’s external debt stood at about $18 million when he assumed office in March 2006, rose to about $30 million by March 2014, when he left office, and stood at about $45.15 million by December 2014.
‎
‎“The government has combined these distinct categories, added them together, and described the resulting US$123.77 million as ‘loans left by Peter Obi.’ That is an incorrect application of public-sector accounting,” Obi reportedly said on Friday.
‎‎
‎Obi also argued that the facilities were primarily World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development programmes negotiated by the Federal Government and accessed by participating states through subsidiary arrangements.
‎
‎What the handover document says
‎
‎The 2014 Anambra State Handover Report, dated March 17, 2014 and addressed to Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, provides a summary of the state’s financial position.
‎
‎The now viral document states that March 14, 2014 was the final working day of Obi’s administration.
‎
‎It listed: ‎Local investments at ₦27 billion; foreign-currency investment of US$56 million, valued at ₦26.5 billion; certified state/MDAs balances at ₦28.165 billion; FGN-approved refund at ₦10 billion. The listed figures totalled ₦91.666 billion.
‎
‎The document also listed estimated liabilities of ₦5 billion, covering March salaries, pensions, gratuities and approved certificates for already executed projects.
‎
‎After deducting the estimated liabilities, the report stated a net balance of ₦86.666 billion. ‎The handover document, however, did not state that Anambra owed $123.77 million in external debt at the time Obi left office.
‎
‎Findings
‎
‎A) The March 2014 DMO record could not be traced
‎
‎A check of the Debt Management Office database found that the specific state and FCT debt record for March 2014 was not accessible. The relevant search returned an “Error 404 — unavailable” response.
‎
‎Consequently, the exact amount of Anambra’s external debt on March 17, 2014, the day Obi handed over power, could not be independently established from a March 2014 DMO record.
‎
‎Therefore, Obi’s claim that the state’s external debt was about $30 million when he left office cannot be directly verified against a DMO record for that exact date.
‎
‎B) The closest DMO record before Obi’s departure shows $30.32m
‎
‎The closest available DMO record before Obi left office shows that Anambra’s external debt stood at $30,323,574.40 as of December 31, 2013.
‎
‎That is approximately $30.32 million, broadly consistent with Obi’s claim that the state’s external debt was about $30 million around the time he left office.
‎
‎C) The first available DMO record after his departure shows $41.46m
‎
‎The next available DMO record, dated June 30, 2014, about three months after Obi left office, put Anambra’s external debt at $41,459,335.44.
‎
‎This is the closest available post-handover DMO figure.
‎
‎D) The December 2014 figure was $45.15m
‎
‎The DMO record for December 31, 2014 shows Anambra’s external debt at $45,154,626.04.
‎
‎The figure tallies with the approximately $45.15 million cited by Obi in his response to the controversy.
‎
‎E) Anambra’s latest available DMO external debt stock is $102.58m
‎
‎The latest state-level external debt stock currently available from the DMO is for December 31, 2025. The December 2026 figure is not yet available because that date has not occurred.
‎
‎The DMO record puts Anambra State’s external debt at $102,579,265.24 as of December 31, 2025.
‎
‎This represents a substantial increase from the $30.32 million recorded for Anambra as of December 31, 2013.
‎
‎However, the 2025 figure relates to the state’s debt position more than 11 years after Obi left office and cannot, by itself, establish the amount of debt inherited from his administration.
‎
‎F) The $123.77m figure requires a distinction
‎
‎The $123.77 million cited by the Anambra Government represents the combined contracted value of eight external borrowing facilities associated with projects executed during Obi’s administration.
‎
‎The available DMO debt-stock records do not show $123.77 million as Anambra’s outstanding external debt around the time Obi left office.
‎
‎This distinction is important because the original or contracted value of a facility is not necessarily the same as the amount actually drawn or the outstanding balance at a particular date.
‎
‎The DMO’s December 2013 figure illustrates this distinction: Anambra’s recorded external debt stock was $30.32 million, rather than $123.77 million.
‎
‎
‎Verdict
‎
‎UNVERIFIABLE‎
‎
‎DMO records do not support $123.77 million as Anambra’s outstanding external debt when Peter Obi left office.
‎
The closest available record before his departure showed $30.32 million, while the latest available DMO figure puts the state’s external debt at $102.58 million as of December 31, 2025. The precise March 17, 2014 figure remains unavailable in the accessible DMO records.
‎
‎However, this fact-check cannot conclusively state that Obi’s exact debt on March 17, 2014 was $30.32 million because the specific March 2014 DMO record could not be traced.
‎
‎The evidence therefore supports the conclusion that $123.77 million should not be presented as the documented outstanding external debt Anambra inherited from Obi in March 2014. At the same time, the evidence does not establish that Obi left the state completely debt-free. (Daily trust)