The Presidency has challenged the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to quit the 2027 presidential race if claims that his administration left debts in Anambra State are proven.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the challenge in a statement on Wednesday.
Onanuga said Obi had previously claimed that he left office as Anambra State governor without outstanding debts and had promised to stop campaigning if the claim was proven wrong.
“Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise,” Onanuga wrote.
The statement followed fresh claims by the Anambra State Government about debts and other financial liabilities allegedly linked to Obi’s administration.
Onanuga said the state government had presented records showing outstanding liabilities involving Water Corporation workers, teachers, pensions and gratuities.
“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?” he asked.
The Anambra State Government has also disputed Obi’s claim that he left more than ₦2.13 billion in an ecological fund account when he left office in 2014.
Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, said the account cited by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account and not an ecological fund account.
The state government also said records showed outstanding loans linked to projects undertaken during previous administrations, with the outstanding balance put at about ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.
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Obi has rejected the claims, insisting that his administration left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts owed to contractors for completed and certified projects.
He also said he would stop campaigning if anyone could prove that he left debts behind.
The dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government is continuing as the former governor prepares for the 2027 presidential election.
