The Anambra State Government has released a 2024 out-of-court settlement document amid its ongoing dispute with former governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over alleged unpaid salaries and other financial obligations.
The state government released the document in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, describing it as evidence against Obi’s claim that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or other liabilities.
The document, titled “Terms of Settlement,” was signed on Feb. 6, 2024, between the Anambra State Government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
It relates to issues involving the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA).
The state government said the settlement demonstrated that financial obligations involving workers of the defunct agencies remained unresolved after Obi left office in 2014.
According to the government, the dispute over the Water Corporation had lasted for 14 years before the Soludo administration reached an out-of-court settlement with AUPCTRE in 2024. The government had earlier said the settlement saved the state N1.3 billion.
In its latest post, the government wrote: “The Water Corporation Arrears — The Evidence: Peter Obi Lied. 14 years later, Soludo entered an out-of-court settlement with the Water Corporation over salaries Obi refused to pay for 8 years. Soludo is now clearing the backlog.”
The latest development is part of an escalating dispute between the Anambra State Government and Obi over the financial position of the state when he handed over power in 2014.
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Obi has rejected the allegations, maintaining that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears inherited from previous governments.
He also said that at the point of handover, Anambra owed nothing in salaries, gratuities or pensions, and had no outstanding obligations to contractors whose projects had been duly executed and certified.
The former governor has challenged the state government to provide evidence to support its claims.
The Anambra government, however, has continued to maintain that some liabilities dating back to Obi’s tenure remained unresolved, including salary arrears involving workers of the defunct Water Corporation.
