Former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has dismissed reports of any rift with his successor, Chukwuma Soludo, declaring that he has no intention of ever seeking a governorship position again.
Addressing the public on Friday after a brief period of silence following the death of his close friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe, Obi urged political leaders to redirect their focus towards Nigeria’s urgent socio-economic challenges. He appealed to state governors to foster an open political environment that permits all presidential aspirants and candidates to campaign freely without interference, stressing that voters must ultimately be allowed to decide.
“I wish to assure the public that I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria. I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended”, he stated.
The former governor’s remarks come amid an ongoing dispute with the Anambra State Government over external debt obligations associated with projects executed during his tenure. According to figures cited by the state administration from the Debt Management Office (DMO), eight multilateral loans tied to Obi’s term had a total contracted value of 123.77 million U.S. dollars, with 92.35 million U.S. dollars still outstanding as of June 2026.
Obi firmly rejected claims framing these financial liabilities as personal debts, clarifying that they were World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) multilateral programmes negotiated by the Federal Government and accessed by states through subsidiary agreements. He noted that these development facilities were not standard commercial loans and ought to be evaluated based on their specific approval, drawdown, and repayment terms rather than grouped together as an inflated figure.
“Regarding the multilateral funding inaccurately described as ‘debt owed by Peter Obi’ in Anambra State, I wish to state unequivocally, as Governor of Anambra State, I did not approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue a bond on behalf of the state. Indeed, at his farewell ceremony, the then Director-General of the DMO, Abraham Nwankwo, appointed me chairman and declared that, during his 10 years in office, I was the only state governor who had not approached him for a loan facility,” Obi asserted.
He further challenged the state government’s figures by pointing out clear inconsistencies in official records published by the DMO. He noted that Anambra’s external debt stood at approximately 18 million U.S. dollars when he assumed office in March 2006, roughly 30 million U.S. dollars when he completed his term in March 2014, and around 45.15 million U.S. dollars by December 2014. Obi questioned how a state with an official external debt of about 30 million U.S. dollars at the time of his departure could now be said to have inherited 123.77 million U.S. dollars from his administration.
Obi stated that his administration left no outstanding liabilities, unpaid civil service salaries, gratuities, pensions, or verified contractor debts.
“When I left office, the Anambra State Government owed no unpaid salaries, gratuities, or pensions. Neither did it owe any contractor or supplier who had completed work that the government had verified and certified,” he added.