Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has rejected claims that the state is still repaying debts incurred during his administration, challenging the government to produce evidence of any unpaid obligation he left behind.

Obi, now the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 election, said his administration cleared historical liabilities and handed over the state without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or payments owed to contractors for completed and certified projects.

His response followed comments by Anambra State Commissioner for Finance Izuchukwu Okafor, who said Governor Chukwuma Soludo's administration was still servicing loans and other financial obligations inherited from previous governments, including those led by Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.

Okafor said deductions were still being made from Anambra's monthly Federation Account allocations to service some inherited loans, including external obligations linked to World Bank and other facilities.

The commissioner also said the Soludo administration had reduced the state's debt burden by more than 83 per cent and cleared several legacy obligations, including contracts, pensions and gratuity arrears.

Obi disputed the suggestion that those liabilities were inherited from his administration.

He said his government had cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears accumulated over previous years before he left office.

“At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions,” Obi said, while also denying that certified contractors were left unpaid.

Obi also addressed a disputed ₦2 billion ecological fund connected to the Oko and Umuchiana erosion crisis.

According to him, the money was released only about three months before the end of his tenure.

He said he refused to rush the expenditure and instead left the fund untouched for his successor because it had been specifically allocated to the erosion project.

Obi said the money remained in a First Bank account with a balance exceeding ₦2.13 billion at the point he left office.

He further argued that project-specific funds such as the ecological allocation were not included in the more than ₦75 billion in savings he has previously claimed his administration left behind.

The former governor challenged the state government and members of the public to establish evidence contradicting his account, saying he would stop campaigning if it could be shown that his claims were false.

The disagreement has reopened a longstanding debate over Anambra's finances at the end of Obi's tenure and the obligations subsequently inherited by successive administrations.

Obi has repeatedly maintained that he did not borrow from Nigerian financial institutions while serving as governor and that he left substantial savings behind.

The Anambra Government, however, maintains that some debt obligations currently being serviced date back to earlier administrations, including Obi's.

Neither side's broader account of the state's historical liabilities has been independently resolved by the latest statements.

The dispute is likely to remain politically significant as Obi campaigns for the presidency in 2027 and Soludo's administration continues to defend its management of Anambra's finances.