Soludo Still Servicing Loans Inherited From Peter Obi, Obiano — Anambra Govt

The Anambra State Government has said Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration is still servicing loans inherited from previous administrations, including those of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during a Ndi Anambra podcast shared by Anambra State New Media on Monday while explaining the state’s current debt position.

Okafor maintained that the Soludo administration had not obtained any commercial bank loan since assuming office, but had continued to meet repayment obligations attached to debts incurred by previous governments.

“It’s on record, you know, that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” he said.

The commissioner explained that deductions were made from Anambra’s Federation Account Allocation Committee funds to service inherited loans.

“Yes, every month during our FAC meetings, and when you see the schedule of FAC, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” Okafor said.

He specifically linked some of the inherited loans to the administrations of Obi and Obiano.

“These loans were borrowed, you know, during the time of, even, not the immediate predecessor, even during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, His Excellency, the past governors,” he stated.

Despite the inherited obligations, Okafor said the Soludo administration had significantly reduced the state’s overall debt burden, claiming that it had fallen by more than 83 per cent.

“But I will also say that Mr Governor has not borrowed a penny. We have been able to manage the debt, the state debt, very well, that we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today. I’ve been able to repay back most of these loans,” he said.

The commissioner added that the government had cleared several domestic liabilities inherited from previous administrations, including unpaid contracts, gratuity and pension arrears.

“In terms of our domestic debt as of today, it is near-zero balance,” he said.

On external debts, Okafor explained that repayments were automatically deducted from federal allocations in line with the terms attached to some of the loans.

He said the obligations included World Bank-related loans and other externally funded commitments.

“Before they limit Anambra’s own allocation, they will deduct it as such, because most of them, World Bank loans and other loans, they committed,” he explained.

Okafor also disclosed that the state had recently settled one of its debts, which he identified as CAGS.

According to him, the administration’s approach to debt management had created additional fiscal space for the state and enabled it to address several liabilities inherited from previous governments.

“This administration has been able to create more by paying off, you know, backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi,” he said.

The commissioner’s claim comes against the backdrop of previous comments by Obi, who served as Anambra governor from 2006 to 2013 and later became the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023.

In 2022, Obi said during an Arise TV Town Hall meeting in Abuja that he did not borrow from any financial institution during his tenure as governor.

“During my time as a former governor, I served for eight years. You can go to that state, you will find that I never borrowed from any financial institution in Nigeria,” Obi said.

He added, “I have never borrowed, I served faithfully and I left their money.”

The latest comments by the Anambra Finance Commissioner therefore put the state’s inherited debt obligations at the centre of renewed public discussion, particularly regarding the origin and repayment of liabilities accumulated under successive administrations.