Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has rejected Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s claim that he left the state with a $123 million debt, insisting that an approved loan facility should not be classified as debt if the funds were never drawn or spent.
Obi made the clarification while responding to Soludo’s recent remarks on the state’s financial position, arguing that public sector accounting distinguishes between approved borrowing and actual debt obligations.
“Even if I had gone to the bank to borrow money but I didn’t spend the money, you cannot call it a debt I left,” Obi said.
Explaining his position, the former governor used a banking analogy to distinguish between a loan approval and money actually utilised.
“Assuming I had gone to the bank and said, ‘Bank A, borrow me ₦10 billion,’ and they gave me a loan of ₦10 billion, I only drew down ₦500 million. You cannot say I’m owing ₦10 billion, because you know the amount,” he said.
Obi maintained that the controversy stemmed from what he described as an inaccurate interpretation of public finance records.
“That’s why I said it is not proper public sector accounting. That’s why I showed the layers,” he added.
The former governor also recalled his relationship with the former Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, saying it reflected his approach to borrowing while in office.
According to Obi, Nwankwo publicly acknowledged during his farewell ceremony that he was the only Nigerian governor who never approached the DMO for approval to borrow throughout his tenure.
“The day he left office, for his send-forth party, he invited me as the chairman and he announced to everybody at that party that the reason why he made me chairman is because I was the only governor in Nigeria who never came to his office for approval to borrow money,” Obi said.
AbdulBasit Saba is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
