Over 200 civil servants died over unpaid entitlements, Anambra govt insists Anambra businessman urges Soludo to stop attacking Obi

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has urged the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over his claim that he left Anambra State without outstanding debts or financial liabilities when he handed over power in 2014.

The call followed fresh disclosures by the Anambra State Government on loans and other financial obligations allegedly incurred during Obi’s tenure as governor.

In a statement issued yesterday by its spokesman, Mr Dele Alake, the APC PCC said records released by the state government contradicted Obi’s repeated claims of fiscal prudence and a clean financial record.

The Anambra Government said Obi’s administration contracted eight external loans with an original value of about $123.77 million, with an outstanding balance of $92.35 million, equivalent to about N127.37 billion, as of June 30, 2026.

According to the state government, the loans were tied to projects covering malaria control, healthcare, education, agricultural development and erosion management.

It added that successive administrations had continued to service the loans, while stressing that its position was not that borrowing for legitimate development projects was inherently wrong.

The APC PCC, however, said the disclosures raised questions about Obi’s claim that he left Anambra without financial liabilities.

MEANWHILE, the Anambra State Government has launched a fresh attack on Obi, alleging that over 200 staff members of the state’s Water Corporation died during his administration due to unpaid entitlements.

The allegation was made by the Anambra State New Media Office, the official communication platform of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration, in a fresh post on X as the political battle between the current government and Obi intensifies.

The government, while referring to Obi as “Anambra’s Pharaoh”, alleged that the former governor’s administration neglected Water Corporation workers who were owed benefits.

It also questioned Obi’s previous position that the corporation had become inactive, asking why funds were still allocated to the agency during his tenure.

HOWEVER, an Anambra businessman and Managing Director of Lomat Global Resources Limited, Izuorah Nnamdi Iloma Anichebe, has urged Governor Chukwuma Soludo to focus on promoting his political positions and the achievements of President Bola Tinubu rather than engaging in repeated political exchanges with Obi.

Anichebe, popularly known as the Mayor of Afrika, made the appeal in an open letter to Soludo, following what he described as the governor’s alleged political confrontation with Obi.

He said Soludo had the constitutional right to support any candidate or political project of his choice, arguing that if the governor had chosen to support Tinubu, he should devote his political energy to explaining and defending the President’s policies and achievements.

Anichebe argued that Obi had established a significant national political following since the 2023 presidential election and remained a prominent figure in the 2027 political discourse.

He noted that continued exchanges between Soludo and Obi could keep the former governor in the public consciousness rather than diminish his political relevance.