By ThePreview Team

 

The Anambra State Government says it is still servicing loans and debts incurred by previous administrations, including those of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.

The Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during a Ndi Anambra podcast. A video of the podcast was uploaded on the Anambra State New Media Facebook page on Monday.

The podcast was moderated by Ejimofor Opara, Special Assistant to Governor Charles Soludo on New Media.

We have not borrowed a kobo

Mr Opara had asked why budget performance reports showed the state was servicing loans despite claims that the Soludo administration had not taken loans.

In response, Mr Okafor said the current government had not borrowed from any commercial bank since assuming office but had continued to service loans inherited from previous governments.

“It’s on record that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” he said.

He explained that monthly deductions are made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), funds to service debts obtained by past governments.

“Every month during our FAAC meetings, when you see the schedule of FAAC, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” he added.

Legacy debts and debt reduction

The commissioner claimed some of the loans were obtained during the tenures of Mr Obi and Mr Obiano.

“These loans were borrowed, you know, even during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, and other past governors,” he stated.

Mr Okafor added that the Soludo administration had “significantly” reduced the state’s debt burden.

“We have been able to manage the state debt very well, and we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today. We’ve been able to repay most of these loans,” he said.

He said the government had also cleared “legacy debts” including unpaid contracts, gratuity arrears and pension arrears.

“There’s what we call legacy debts. That’s, the contracts that were not paid, the gratuity arrears, pension arrears, we’ve been able to clear all that,” he said.

The commissioner further stated that the state’s domestic debt was now at “near-zero balance.”

External debts

On external obligations, Mr Okafor said repayments for loans such as World Bank facilities are deducted directly from federal allocations before remittance to the state.

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“Before they remit Anambra’s own allocation, they will deduct it as such, because most of them, World Bank loans and other loans, they committed,” he said.

He added that the administration had recently paid off some of the backlog of debts inherited “starting from the time of Peter Obi.”

What Peter Obi said

Mr Obi, now the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), governed Anambra from 2010 to 2014.

He and Mr Soludo have been engaged in a war of words in recent years.

Mr Obi has repeatedly said he left office without owing any individual or institution. He also claimed he left $150 million in three banks, $50 million each in Access, defunct Diamond and Fidelity banks with an interest rate of at least 6.5 per cent.

“If you calculate all of them today, the money invested would have been about N60 billion,” he said in 2022.