The Anambra state government has criticised Peter Obi, former governor of the state, over his claim that he left more than $150 million in savings when he left office in 2014.
Law Mefor, commissioner for information and value reorientation, accused Obi of prioritising savings and interest income while the state faced poverty, insecurity and major infrastructure deficits during his eight-year tenure.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mefor also alleged that Obi failed to disclose some of the debts incurred by his administration in the handover note he left when he exited office.
The latest exchange deepens the dispute between the Anambra government and Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, over loans and other financial obligations allegedly inherited from his administration.
Anambra debt controversy
The state government has repeatedly claimed that Obi left $123.77 million in debt at the end of his tenure.
It said the loans were obtained to fund projects covering malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development and value chain development.
Obi has consistently rejected the claim, maintaining that he left more than $150 million in Anambra’s treasury.
He argued that the funds were sufficient to offset the loans the state government said his administration had left behind.
“As at the time I left office, the dollar components of my savings invested in various bonds were over $150 million, which gives Anambra state guaranteed income of about $10 million yearly,” Obi said.
“Let me assume the worst-case scenario — which is false — that there was $123.7 million owed as of the time I left. I left over $150 million that was earning about $10 million.”
Obi said that if the funds had been retained and the interest used to service the alleged debt, the loan would have been fully repaid while the $150 million principal would have remained intact.
On Friday, the Anambra government also released documents alleging that Obi’s administration left N363 million in salary arrears owed to workers, alongside other outstanding liabilities.
‘Government doesn’t exist to save’
Responding to Obi’s position, Mefor questioned whether accumulating savings and earning interest should have been a priority while residents faced poverty, insecurity and inadequate public services.
“Government doesn’t exist to save money and earn interest,” the commissioner said, arguing that its primary responsibility is to improve the security and welfare of citizens.
Mefor alleged that Anambra faced significant development gaps during Obi’s tenure, including inadequate infrastructure, weak public health and education systems, limited access to piped water and more than 900 active gully erosion sites.
He further claimed that 78 of the state’s 179 communities had no public primary schools, while many lacked functional primary healthcare facilities.
According to the commissioner, targeted spending on infrastructure and human capital could have generated wider social and economic benefits than the interest earned from keeping funds in banks.
Government spending versus savings
Mefor also contrasted Obi’s savings argument with the use of some of the funds by his successor, Willie Obiano.
He argued that subsequent investments in development contributed to reducing poverty and improving security before the escalation of attacks by unknown gunmen in the south-east from 2021.
“How much money would H.E. Peter Obi ascribe to the lives of the millions of people pulled out of poverty? Please, Your Excellency, Peter Obi: governance and development are different from trading where everything is primarily about profit and loss account without much consideration for human life,” Mefor said.
He added that savings and interest income should not be treated as a primary measure of governance performance.
“Indeed, if government savings and interest income constitute an indicator of governance performance, perhaps it should have been one of the MDGs or SDGs, and governments would start competing as to who saves the most rather than who improves the security and welfare of the people the most.”
Mefor said Obi’s emphasis on savings and interest income could attract public approval but described the argument as economically problematic, except where savings were intended to manage revenue fluctuations over time phone claim.
