By Ambrose Amos
Report on Friday, September 25, 2026 indicate that the Anambra State Government has acknowledged that former governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi performed well during his time in office, while maintaining its position that questions surrounding the state’s financial records under his administration should be clarified.
The state’s Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, made the remark on Thursday during an appearance on the 90MinutesAfrica podcast hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo.
Mefor said the government’s ongoing scrutiny of Obi’s financial records was not intended to discredit his achievements or undermine his presidential ambitions. Rather, he said, the focus was on resolving disagreements over claims that Obi left the state without financial liabilities when he handed over power in March 2014.
“The intention of the Anambra State government is not to indict Peter Obi. Peter Obi did well as governor,” Mefor said.
He added that there was no personal conflict between Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Obi, describing both men as politicians with political interests to protect.
“There is no rift between Governor Soludo and Peter Obi. They are both in politics, and they have their interests to defend,” he said.
The commissioner, however, maintained that the state government had a responsibility to establish what financial obligations were inherited by successive administrations.
One of the issues at the centre of the dispute is Obi’s claim that he left more than ₦2.13 billion in an account designated for ecological intervention projects before leaving office.
The Anambra Government has disputed that claim, saying a certified statement obtained from First Bank does not support Obi’s description of the account or the amount allegedly held in it.
Mefor previously said the First Bank account identified by Obi, number 2018779464 at the UNIZIK branch in Awka, was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account rather than an ecological fund account. He also claimed that the account records, dating back to its opening in 2011, did not show an inflow or balance of ₦2.13 billion.
Obi has rejected the government’s claims concerning the state’s inherited liabilities and insisted that his administration left Anambra in a strong financial position.
The former governor's camp recently released a copy of a 2014 handover document that reportedly showed a net financial balance of about ₦86.67 billion at the end of his administration. The document listed approximately ₦27 billion in local investments, $156 million in foreign-currency investments and about ₦28.17 billion in state and government-agency balances, alongside other assets and obligations.
Oseloka Obaze, who served as Secretary to the Anambra State Government under Obi, has also defended the former governor's handover records. Obaze said he was present when Obi formally handed over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014, and that the documents contained details of the state's financial position.
The Soludo administration, however, has maintained that several external loans remained outstanding after Obi left office. In documents released during the dispute, the government said eight external borrowings associated with previous administrations had an outstanding balance of about ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, calculated at the official exchange rate.
The government has also argued that acknowledging Obi’s achievements does not prevent it from questioning specific financial claims attributed to his administration.
The renewed disagreement has therefore shifted from a broader political argument over Obi’s record to competing interpretations of financial documents, loan obligations and the meaning of the assets and liabilities contained in the 2014 handover records.
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