2027: Obi Challenges Critics to Trace 1% Misappropriation of Funds Under His Anambra Tenure

Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has challenged his critics to identify any misappropriation of funds during his eight-year tenure, saying he would stop campaigning if they could trace even one per cent of the money his administration received.

Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, made the challenge amid an ongoing dispute with the Anambra State Government over his administration’s financial record and debts allegedly inherited by subsequent governments.

He said he served as governor for eight years and received about half a trillion naira during the period. According to Obi, anyone able to establish that one per cent of the funds was misappropriated would make him abandon his political campaign.

The former governor has rejected claims by officials of the current administration that his government left behind outstanding debts, including loans, contractor liabilities and unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities.

Obi maintained that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.

He also disputed claims surrounding N2.13 billion in ecological funds. Obi said the money was released by the Federal Government shortly before the end of his tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.

According to him, he refused to spend the funds despite pressure to do so, insisting that the money should remain available for his successor because it was tied to a specific project.

Obi said the funds were left untouched in a First Bank account and were separate from the more than N75 billion in savings he said his administration left behind.

However, the Anambra State Government has rejected Obi’s account. Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation Law Mefor said certified bank records showed that the account identified by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, rather than an ecological fund account.

Mefor also said the account had never contained the N2.13 billion claimed by Obi. The state government further said eight external loans remained from previous administrations and that their outstanding balance stood at N127.4 billion as of June 2026.

The commissioner also disputed Obi’s claims regarding inherited arrears, saying the Soludo administration had cleared about N22 billion in gratuity arrears but that some liabilities remained.