The Anambra State Government's claim that Peter Obi left behind $123.77 million in external debt when he exited office in 2014 is not supported by available Debt Management Office (DMO) records, though the exact figure for March 2014 could not be independently confirmed. The state government said eight external borrowing facilities connected to projects during Obi's tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
Obi Rejects the $123.77m Framing
Obi, who served as governor from March 2006 and handed over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014, rejected the characterisation, saying the figure mixed up contracted values with amounts actually drawn or outstanding when he left. He said the $123.77 million was the combined face value of the facilities, not the amount borrowed at his departure.
"The government has combined these distinct categories, added them together, and described the resulting US$123.77 million as 'loans left by Peter Obi.' That is an incorrect application of public-sector accounting," Obi said on Friday. He added that many of the facilities were World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development programmes negotiated by the Federal Government, with states accessing them through subsidiary arrangements.
Handover Report and DMO Data Tell a Different Story
The 2014 Anambra State Handover Report, signed on March 17, 2014, listed local investments of N27 billion, foreign-currency investments of $56 million (valued at N26.5 billion), certified state balances of N28.165 billion, and an FGN-approved refund of N10 billion, giving a combined total of N91.666 billion. After estimated liabilities of N5 billion were deducted, the document recorded a net balance of N86.666 billion. The handover report did not mention $123.77 million as outstanding external debt.
A search of the DMO's state debt database for March 2014 returned an "Error 404 — unavailable" response, meaning the exact external debt figure for March 17, 2014 could not be independently confirmed. The closest available record before Obi's departure, dated December 31, 2013, put Anambra's external debt at $30,323,574.40, roughly $30.32 million. That figure broadly matches Obi's claim that the state owed about $30 million when he left.
Debt Trajectory After Obi's Departure
By June 30, 2014, about three months after the handover, the DMO recorded Anambra's external debt at $41,459,335.44. By December 31, 2014, it had risen to $45,154,626.04, a figure Obi himself cited in his response. The most recent available DMO figure, for December 31, 2025, puts Anambra's external debt at $102,579,265.24, an increase spread across more than 11 years since Obi's departure.
The available evidence does not support $123.77 million as the outstanding external debt Anambra carried when Obi left office in March 2014. The figure appears to reflect the total contracted value of borrowing facilities rather than the balance owed at that point. At the same time, the missing March 2014 DMO record means his claim of roughly $30 million as the exit figure cannot be confirmed with precision, and the evidence does not suggest the state was debt-free when he departed.
