The Anambra State government has released details of loans it says it inherited from the administration of former governor Peter Obi, putting the external debt figure at $123 billion, according to TheCable. The state also said it has found no evidence of a N2.1 billion ecological fund, TheCable reports.
The records were made public on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, with the state disputing the ecological fund claim, according to Sahara Reporters. The release follows a public dispute over the debts left behind by Obi, who governed Anambra before later seeking the presidency.
The controversy has drawn in the Presidency, which, according to Punch, challenged Obi to withdraw from the presidential race over the Anambra debt dispute. Obi has responded to the state government's loan repayment claim, Premium Times Nigeria reports. Daily Post Nigeria also reported that the Anambra government released records of what it described as unpaid debts from Obi's time as governor.
The competing accounts center on two figures: the $123 billion external debt the state says it inherited, and the N2.1 billion ecological fund it says it cannot trace. The state's position is that the records support its claims; Obi's response, as reported by Premium Times, addresses the repayment claim.
What to watch next: whether Obi or the Presidency provides a detailed rebuttal to the loan records, and whether the ecological fund claim is resolved with documentary evidence from either side.