The Anambra State Government has released a 2024 out-of-court settlement document as evidence against former Governor Peter Obi, accusing him of failing to honour his claim that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, or other financial obligations. The document, titled “Terms of Settlement,” was signed on February 6, 2024, between the Anambra State Government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
The settlement document records an agreement between the state government and AUPCTRE to resolve a long-running dispute involving workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA). The agreement states that the parties had been engaged in an out-of-court settlement process after years of dispute. Article 1 of the document lists accrued salaries identified after a verification exercise, putting the verified salary arrears for Water Corporation staff at N1,325,562,788.17 and those of ANSEPA staff at N238,187,571.95.
The document further states that the parties agreed on arrangements for settling the verified claims. Under Article 7, titled “Payment Mode,” the agreement provides for payment in instalments over four years. It states that N473 million was to be paid in 2024, while the remaining agreed sum of N1,090,143,020 was to be shared across 2025, 2026, and 2027. The document lists N363,381,006 for 2025, another N363,381,006 for 2026, and N363,381,006 for 2027.
The settlement also provided for a dedicated state government account for payments to affected staff, with the payments to be processed through the state government payroll system. The agreement came after a 14-year dispute involving the defunct Water Corporation and ANSEPA. Anambra State Government announced the settlement in February 2024, saying it had reached an out-of-court agreement with AUPCTRE to resolve the matter.
The latest disclosure comes amid a wider political disagreement between the Anambra Government and Obi over his record as governor. The state government had previously challenged Obi over his claim that he left Anambra without debt or unpaid obligations. In its earlier statement, it referred to Obi’s reported pledge to withdraw from the presidential race if anyone could establish that he left the state in debt.
Obi has rejected the allegations and maintained that his administration inherited substantial arrears from previous governments and worked to clear them. He said, “We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over N35 billion.” Obi also maintained that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities, or debts owed to contractors for completed and certified projects.
Historical records show that the dispute over the Water Corporation workers predates the Soludo administration. In 2014, AUPCTRE complained over about N1.8 billion in outstanding emoluments involving workers of the Water Corporation and ANSEPA, while the dispute subsequently continued through legal and settlement processes. The Anambra Government is now presenting the 2024 agreement as part of its case against Obi, arguing that the existence of the verified arrears contradicts his broader claim that his administration handed over the state without unpaid workers’ salaries.
Key points
- The Anambra State Government released a 2024 out-of-court settlement document as evidence against former Governor Peter Obi.
- The document shows verified salary arrears for Water Corporation staff at N1,325,562,788.17 and those of ANSEPA staff at N238,187,571.95.
- Obi has rejected the allegations, maintaining that his administration cleared substantial arrears and left office without outstanding obligations.
