The Presidency has weighed in on the fiery fiscal dispute between former Governor Peter Obi and the Anambra State Government, daring the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC Presidential candidate to stick to his word and step down.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, targeted Obi in a public social media update following fresh figures released by state officials.
“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.
Pointing directly to the figures issued by current state administrators regarding inherited worker liabilities and external obligations, the presidential spokesperson pressed the opposition leader to keep his promise.
“Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things,” Onanuga said.
Concluding his critique, the aide posed a direct challenge: “The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?”
The intervention comes after Obi vehemently denied leaving liabilities behind, asserting that his administration cleared over ₦35 billion in inherited arrears and left office without outstanding worker or contractor debts.
Obi had also countered claims about a disputed ₦2 billion ecological fund, stating that over ₦2.13 billion remained untouched in a dedicated First Bank account intended for erosion projects.
However, Anambra Information Commissioner Law Mefor rejected that explanation, alleging that official bank statements show the cited account was a standard internal revenue account that never held those funds.
The entire exchange centers on Obi’s previous high-stakes dare to political opponents: “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
