The Presidency has challenged former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi to stand by his promise to end his 2027 presidential campaign if claims about debts allegedly incurred during his administration are proven.
The challenge came from Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, amid an escalating dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s financial obligations.
In a Wednesday post on X, Onanuga referred to Obi’s earlier statement that he left Anambra State without outstanding debts.
He argued that the former governor should now act on his pledge following claims by the state government that liabilities were left behind by his administration.
Onanuga said Obi had previously indicated that he would stop campaigning if anyone could establish that his account of Anambra’s finances was incorrect.
The presidential aide therefore challenged the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate to honour that commitment if the allegations against his administration are substantiated.
“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?” Onanuga asked.
The comments followed a fresh exchange between Obi and the Anambra State Government over historical debts, unpaid obligations and the handling of funds during his tenure as governor.
The controversy intensified after the Anambra State Government alleged that Obi’s administration left behind several financial obligations.
The claims reportedly include liabilities involving Water Corporation workers, teachers, pension and gratuity payments, contractors and an ecological fund.
The state government has also alleged that some borrowing undertaken during the period was for purposes it considers questionable.
Obi, however, has rejected the allegations and maintained that his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears.
He also said he left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.
One of the major points of disagreement concerns an alleged ecological fund linked to erosion-related challenges in the state.
Obi said more than ₦2.13 billion remained untouched in a First Bank account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis when he left office.
The Anambra Government has disputed that account.
In a statement on Wednesday, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, said the account referenced by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account, rather than an ecological fund account.
Mefor said the government had obtained a certified printout of the account to support its position.
According to him, the account had never contained the amount claimed by Obi, either as an inflow or balance, from the time it was opened in 2011 to date.
Despite the government’s response, Obi has continued to challenge anyone capable of disproving his account of Anambra’s finances.
He had declared that he would stop his campaign if the claims against his record in office were established.
The dispute has therefore shifted beyond the state’s financial history, with Obi’s own pledge now becoming part of the political argument surrounding his 2027 presidential ambition.
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At the centre of the disagreement are competing accounts of Anambra’s financial position when Obi left office.
The former governor maintains that his administration settled substantial inherited obligations and did not leave unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities.
The state government, on the other hand, says liabilities remained and has challenged specific claims made by Obi, including his account of the alleged ecological fund.
The latest intervention by the Presidency adds a political dimension to the dispute, with Onanuga asking Obi to respond to the allegations by reference to his earlier campaign pledge.
