BREAKING: Anambra Govt Disputes Peter Obi’s ₦2.13bn Ecological Fund Claim, Releases Details Of Outstanding Loans

The Anambra State Government has challenged former Governor Peter Obi’s claim that he left more than ₦2.13 billion in an ecological fund for his successor, while also releasing details of loans it says remained outstanding after he left office in 2014.

The latest development follows a fresh exchange between the state government and Obi over the financial position of Anambra at the end of his administration.

The state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said the government had obtained a certified printout of the First Bank account identified by Obi as the account where the ecological funds were kept.

According to Mefor, the account, number 2018779464, was not an ecological fund account but an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account.

He further claimed that records covering the account from its opening in 2011 to date showed that it had never contained the ₦2.13 billion amount cited by Obi, either as an inflow or as a balance.

The commissioner consequently challenged the former governor to explain where the ₦2.13 billion he said was left for his successor was kept.

The dispute over the ecological fund followed an earlier statement by Obi in which he rejected allegations that his administration left behind significant financial liabilities, including an ecological loan, unpaid salaries, gratuities, pensions and contractor obligations.

Obi maintained that his administration had systematically cleared historical financial obligations inherited from previous administrations, saying payments towards accumulated gratuities and arrears exceeded ₦35 billion.

He also insisted that when he handed over power, the state had no outstanding salaries, gratuities or pension liabilities and that contractors whose projects had been duly completed and certified for payment had been settled.

On the specific ₦2.13 billion ecological fund, Obi said the money was released about three months before the end of his tenure for the management of the erosion crisis in Oko and Umuchiana.

He said he deliberately refused to spend the money before leaving office because it had been earmarked for a specific project and, in his view, should remain available to the incoming administration.

Obi subsequently stated that the funds were left intact in a First Bank account, with the balance exceeding ₦2.13 billion at the point of handover.The former governor challenged anyone disputing his account to produce evidence to the contrary. However, the Anambra Government has now directly disputed that account, saying its certified bank records do not support Obi’s description of the account or the amount he claimed was held in it. Punch reported the government’s position on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

Government Releases Details Of Outstanding Loans

Beyond the ecological fund controversy, the state government also released details of what it described as outstanding external loans inherited from the previous administration.

Mefor said eight external borrowings remained outstanding after Obi left office on March 17, 2014.

According to the government, the combined balance of the loans stood at ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, when calculated at the official exchange rate.

The loans listed by the government include the Malaria Control Booster Project, Third National Fadama Development Project, Health System Development Project II, State Education Programme Investment Project, Community and Social Development Project, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project and Value Chain Development Project.

The government also disputed Obi’s assertion that his administration left office without salary, pension or gratuity arrears.

Mefor said the Soludo administration had cleared about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears but maintained that some legacy liabilities connected to previous administrations remained.

He specifically cited arrears involving retired teachers and workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation.

According to the commissioner, salary arrears owed to Water Corporation workers persisted through the Obi administration before being settled under the Soludo administration, with two of three instalments reportedly paid.

He further alleged that the Obi administration had verified and certified 16 months of salary arrears for primary school teachers but paid only five months before leaving office.

The state government also challenged Obi’s claim that his administration left more than ₦75 billion in savings. Mefor questioned where the records supporting the claimed savings were, saying the government would not accept what he described as unsupported accounting claims.

Competing Accounts Remain Unresolved

The latest exchange leaves two substantially different accounts of Anambra’s financial position at the end of Obi’s tenure.

Obi maintains that his administration cleared inherited obligations, left no outstanding salaries, pensions or certified contractor liabilities and preserved more than ₦2.13 billion in ecological funds for the incoming government.

The Anambra Government, however, disputes those claims and says its records show outstanding loans, inherited arrears and no evidence that the First Bank account identified by Obi contained the ₦2.13 billion he described.

At this stage, the competing claims should be distinguished from independently established facts. The government’s account is based on statements by its commissioner and the bank records it says it obtained, while Obi continues to maintain his own account of the state’s finances at handover. Punch’s current report confirms the positions of both sides but does not independently resolve the underlying financial dispute.