Anambra State Government has presented documents relating to N363.38 million in salary arrears owed to workers and pensioners of two defunct state agencies, as part of its response to former governor Peter Obi’s claim that he left the state without outstanding liabilities.
Gatekeepers News reports that the documents were released through Anambra State New Media, a platform affiliated with the state government, on Friday. The move came after Obi insisted that he did not leave the state owing salaries, pensions, gratuities or contractors whose work had been completed and certified.
The documents include a May 22, 2025 memo signed by a former head of service and terms of settlement between the state government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
According to the documents, the arrears involved staff, pensioners and next of kin of workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation (ANSWC) and Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA).
The terms of settlement provided for payments in tranches, with a second tranche of N363.381 million scheduled for payment in 2026. The state government said the first tranche had already been paid.
The Anambra government maintains that the N363.381 million represents part of the salary arrears it inherited from the Obi administration. It said the liabilities involved entitlements owed to workers and pensioners of the two agencies.
However, the documents presented by the government do not, on their own, establish when the underlying arrears were incurred or whether they originated during Obi’s tenure, according to TheCable.
The latest development is part of an escalating disagreement between Obi and the Anambra government over the financial obligations he allegedly left behind when he handed over power in March 2014.
Obi had recently maintained that he left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.
“As at the day I left office, I was not owing any salary, pension, or gratuity that Anambra state government is supposed to pay,” Obi said in an earlier interview.
He also said he did not owe contractors whose work had been completed and properly processed.
“I was not owing any supplier or contractor that had executed his job and his documents processed, not one. The day I left office; I paid what was due to be paid. I wasn’t owing any contractors,” he said.
The former governor has also challenged the state government to provide evidence if it believes he left financial liabilities behind.
“If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning,” Obi said.
The dispute extends beyond salary arrears to external loans. The Anambra government previously said eight external borrowing facilities totalling $123.77 million remained from Obi’s tenure, with an outstanding balance of about $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026. The loans were linked to projects including healthcare, education, malaria control, erosion management and agricultural development.
Izuchukwu Okafor, Anambra commissioner for finance, had also said deductions were still being made from the state’s federal allocation to service loans obtained by previous administrations.
“Every month during our FAAC meetings, when you see the schedule of FAAC, you will notice there are substantial, significant deductions from our own FAAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” Okafor said.
Obi has rejected that account, saying the facilities described as debts were not loans he personally obtained from commercial banks. He also said he left more than $150 million in investments for the state when he left office.
“I told you these are not loans. I didn’t go to the bank,” Obi said.
The presentation of the N363.38 million documents adds another element to the ongoing dispute over the financial records and liabilities inherited by successive Anambra administrations.
