The Anambra State Government has released documents relating to N363.38 million in salary arrears owed to former workers and pensioners of two defunct state agencies, days after former governor Peter Obi renewed his claim that he did not leave the state with outstanding debts or unpaid obligations. The documents concern workers linked to the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency, ANSEPA.
The state government has relied on the records to argue that financial obligations connected to the two agencies remained unresolved and were later addressed through an agreement reached under Governor Chukwuma Soludo. One of the documents is a memo dated May 22, 2025, signed by the then Head of Service, Theodora Igwegbe. It refers to the implementation of a settlement reached between the Anambra State Government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees, AUPCTRE.
The memo specifically provides for a second payment of N363,381,000 in 2026. The proposed payment was to be made to beneficiaries connected with the outstanding claims involving the two former government agencies. The memo also requested approval for the release of the funds and indicated that the payment would be processed through the state government’s payroll system.
The development followed the release of an earlier settlement document signed by the Anambra State Government and AUPCTRE on February 6, 2024. The agreement was reached after a prolonged dispute involving the defunct Water Corporation and ANSEPA. According to the settlement document, a verification exercise put the salary arrears of former Water Corporation workers at more than N1.32 billion, while the claims involving ANSEPA workers were put at about N238.18 million.
The settlement provided for the payment of the agreed obligations in instalments. The first tranche was put at N473 million, while further payments were to be made in subsequent years. The Anambra State Government had announced in February 2024 that it had reached an out-of-court settlement with AUPCTRE after years of disagreement over the affected workers.
Obi has repeatedly rejected claims that he left the state with unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or other major financial obligations. He has maintained that his administration inherited several liabilities from previous governments and took steps to clear them during his time in office. Obi said his administration “systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over N35 billion.”
Anambra Commissioner for Information and Value Orientation, Law Mefor, has accused the former governor of leaving behind financial obligations which subsequent administrations had to deal with. The commissioner has also referred to outstanding loans and other liabilities associated with the state. In a recent statement, Mefor said the state government had cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees and teachers.
Key points
- The Anambra State Government has released documents on N363.38 million in salary arrears owed to former workers and pensioners of two defunct state agencies.
- Former governor Peter Obi has maintained that he left the state with no outstanding debts or unpaid obligations.
- The Soludo administration has taken a different position, accusing Obi of leaving behind financial obligations which subsequent administrations had to deal with.
