By Mardiyyah Abubakar
The Anambra State Government has challenged former Governor Peter Obi’s claim that he left more than ₦2.13 billion in an ecological fund account before leaving office in 2014.
The state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said the First Bank account cited by Obi was not an ecological fund account and never contained the amount claimed by the former governor.
Mefor made the assertion in a statement shared on Wednesday by the Anambra New Media X account, titled, “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.”
According to the commissioner, the state government obtained a certified printout of account number 2018779464, covering the period from its opening in 2011 to date.
He said the account was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account and not an ecological fund account.
Mefor said, “From 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount—whether as inflow or balance—in the account.”
He consequently challenged Obi to explain where the ₦2.13 billion he claimed to have left for his successor was kept.
Obi had earlier rejected allegations that his administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities and unpaid salaries, gratuities and pensions.
The former governor said his administration had liquidated historical gratuities and arrears worth more than ₦35 billion.
On the ecological fund, Obi said the money was released about three months before the end of his tenure to address the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
He said he left the funds intact in a First Bank account because they were tied to the project and were expected to remain available to his successor.
However, Mefor also disputed Obi’s account of the state’s inherited debts, saying eight external loans remained after the former governor left office on March 17, 2014.
He said the outstanding balance of the loans stood at ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the official exchange rate.
The commissioner further said the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had cleared about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears, while alleging that some legacy liabilities remained.
Mefor also challenged Obi’s claim that his administration left more than ₦75 billion in savings, asking him to provide records to substantiate the figure.
The latest exchange followed Obi’s challenge that he would stop his 2027 presidential campaign if anyone could establish that his account of the ecological fund was false.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi said.
