Anambra Govt Presents Fresh Documents, Asks Peter Obi To Quit 2027 Presidential Race

The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor and 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to withdraw from the presidential race, accusing him of breaking promises he made over the state’s debt and payment of workers’ salaries.

The state government made the challenge in a post on its official 𝕏 account on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, asking, “When will Peter Obi quit presidential campaign?”

It recalled that Obi had promised to quit the presidential race if it was established that he left Anambra with a debt burden.

The government also cited a campaign promise Obi reportedly made while serving as governor that he would resign if workers were not paid as and when due, Naija News reports.

It alleged that both promises were broken.

“He (Obi) vowed to quit the presidential race if proven he left Anambra in debt.

“As governor, he vowed to resign if workers weren’t paid on time. He broke both. He left office in 2014 with heavier arrears,” the government said.

Govt Releases Letter On Water Corporation Salaries

The state government attached to its post a letter dated April 25, 2006, and allegedly signed by Chuks Iloegbunam, who was then Obi’s Chief of Staff.

The letter, titled “GUBERNATORIAL PREROGATIVE,” made a special appeal to Obi to settle salary arrears owed workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation.

It stated that the corporation’s monthly salary bill was about ₦15 million and that its workers had last been paid in February.

The letter also referred to Obi’s campaign manifesto, which reportedly stated that the governor would resign “if there is any case where workers are not paid as and when due.”

“Your Excellency, Water Corporation workers were last paid in February. Please rectify this anomaly so that you can forge ahead with the good work you are doing,” the letter concluded.

The authenticity of the letter could not be independently confirmed at the time of reporting.

In another post, the state government said, “Peter Obi’s former Chief of Staff, Iloegbunam berated him.”

The latest development is part of the ongoing dispute between the administration of Governor Charles Soludo and Obi over the financial position of Anambra State when the former governor left office in March 2014.

On September 17, the state government, through the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, released a statement titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.”

The government alleged that Obi left outstanding external loans as well as salary, pension and gratuity arrears.

According to the state government, eight external loans linked to projects under Obi’s administration had an outstanding balance of ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the official exchange rate. The loans were contracted for projects covering areas including malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare.

Mefor said the current administration continued to service the loans, with hundreds of millions of naira deducted monthly from the state’s federal allocation.

The commissioner also alleged that Obi left salary, gratuity and pension arrears involving retired teachers and workers of the Water Corporation.

He further disputed Obi’s claim that more than ₦2.13 billion was left in an ecological fund account at First Bank, UNIZIK branch, Awka, saying the account identified by the former governor was an Internally Generated Revenue–Consolidated Revenue Account and had not held the amount claimed.

Obi Rejects Allegations

Obi has rejected the claims by the Anambra State Government.

The former governor said he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities and without obligations to contractors whose projects had been completed, processed and certified.

He also said his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears.

Obi challenged the state government to provide evidence that he left debts or owed contractors, saying he would stop campaigning for the 2027 presidency if such evidence was produced.

The dispute later drew a response from the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who challenged Obi to honour his pledge and withdraw from the presidential race if the allegations were established.

Obi’s media aide, Idris Zekeri Jnr, however, described the Presidency’s intervention as that of a ‘meddlesome interloper’ and said former officials who served under Obi were preparing a detailed response to the issues raised by the Anambra government.