The Anambra State Government has publicly challenged former governor Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race. In a statement released on September 22, 2026, the state's New Media Office accused Obi of breaking key campaign promises regarding debt and timely payment of workers' salaries. The government recalled Obi's vows to quit the presidential race if he left Anambra in debt and to resign if workers were not paid on time.
The Anambra State Government released a letter dated April 25, 2006, allegedly signed by Chuks Iloegbunam, then Chief of Staff to Obi. The letter made a special appeal to Obi to settle salary arrears owed to workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation. It listed the corporation's monthly salary bill of about N15m and that its workers had last been paid in February. The letter referenced Obi's campaign manifesto, which pledged that the governor would resign if workers were not paid as and when due.
However, PUNCH Online reports that Obi had only been in office for about five weeks when the letter was allegedly written. The salary arrears may have predated his assumption of office and been inherited from the previous administration. In a follow-up post, the state government claimed that Obi's former Chief of Staff, Iloegbunam, berated him. The development is part of an ongoing dispute between the administration of Governor Charles Soludo and Obi over the financial position of the state when Obi left office in March 2014.
On September 17, 2026, the state government released a detailed statement titled "Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies." The government alleged that Obi left outstanding external loans, salary, pension, and gratuity arrears. The outstanding balance of eight external borrowings contracted during Obi's administration stood at N127.4bn as of June 30, 2026. The government also claimed that Obi left verified salary, gratuity, and pension arrears for retired teachers and staff of the Water Corporation.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, had earlier rejected the government's claims. He insisted that he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities, or obligations to contractors whose jobs had been processed and certified. Obi claimed his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears. He vowed to stop campaigning for the 2027 presidency if the state government could produce evidence that he left debts or owed any contractor.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, subsequently challenged Obi to honour his pledge and quit the race. Onanuga said the Anambra government had confronted Obi with facts and figures. Obi's media aide, Idris Zekeri Jnr, described the Presidency's intervention as that of a "meddlesome interloper." A team of former officials who worked with Obi is preparing a detailed response to the substantive issues raised by the Anambra State Government.
The dispute over the financial position of Anambra State at the end of Obi's tenure in 2014 has periodically resurfaced. The issue has gained fresh intensity as the 2027 presidential contest approaches. The Anambra State Government's challenge to Obi has added a new dimension to the ongoing debate about the financial legacy of his administration.
Key points
- The Anambra State Government has challenged Peter Obi to quit the 2027 presidential race, citing his alleged failure to pay workers' salaries and debts.
- Obi has rejected the government's claims, insisting that he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions, or debts.
- The dispute has gained fresh intensity as the 2027 presidential contest approaches, with the Presidency intervening in the matter.
