Obi-Soludo: Yet Another Round of Political War

It’s no news that there is no love lost between the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, Mr Peter Obi and Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State as they have continually been at political war. David-Chyddy Eleke reports that this time, the contention is Obi’s financial record when he served as two-time governor of the state.

What started as an innocent podcast appearance by the commissioner for Finance in Anambra State, under the Prof. Chukwuma Soludo administration, Mr. Izuchukwu Okafor, has turned out a major cause of disagreement between two of Anambra’s most powerful political figures; Mr Peter Obi, former governor of the state and presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and Prof Chukwuma Soludo, the incumbent governor.

In the podcast appearance, the commissioner had stated that Anambra State government under Soludo was still repaying loans facilities accessed by previous governments, including  that of Obi. This statement may not be unconnected to the many comments by the presidential candidate of NDC, who has countless times bragged about his time as governor of the state, always stating that as at the time he left office in 2014, he neither owed any worker, contractor or any debt in loans, and still left behind N75billion in cash and investmens. He usually summed up such statement with a challenge that if anyone could prove him wrong, he would give up his presidential ambition.

Of course, Obi didn’t waste time in replying to the commissioner with same challenge, one that spurred the government of Soludo to paw through the books of the state to dig up records of his activities as governor, leading to what the state commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor released last week under the caption: Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a viral post by a former Governor of Anambra, Mr. Peter Obi, on what he described as Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy, which presumably was in response to some statements in a podcast by the Anambra State Commissioner for Finance. We understand that this is a campaign season and candidates often go to the extremes in order to impress. If not that the said post was in his personal handle, we would not have believed that he could have made such wild, and verifiably false claims. As a government, we are focused 100% on delivering dividends of democracy to millions of Ndi Anambra. However, when a former governor of the state makes some outlandish claims about the state of public debt he left behind and especially when the present government has been spending billions of Naira servicing the same debt, a responsible government owes the public a response in the interest of transparency and accountability.”

Stating what it described as the fact, the state government clarified that: “Peter Obi spent about $4.05 billion (equivalent to N5.4 trillion at current exchange rate) in eight years and also contracted US$123.77million in external debt alone which our government has so far paid billions of Naira in service payments. Let’s be clear: hardly any government in the world has zero debt stock. The issue is not whether or not borrowing is good: no business or government can scale significantly without some debt. Yes, we converted the audited and published expenditures using the average official exchange rates during the eight years of Peter Obi and they sum to about USS$4.05 billion.

“At the current official exchange rate, it would sum to about N5.4 trillon and he surely governed to the best of his ability. Of course, no government will ever finish the work of development. As at the date Peter Obi left office (17th March 2014), there were and still are eight different external borrowings his administration left for his successors. As of June 30, 2026, the total balance of such loans left by Peter Obi at the official exchange rate stood at N127.4Billion. Here we summarise the latest report from the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Anambra’s debt status (as of June 2026), indicating the dates the loans were signed and the balance remaining. Evidently, Peter Obi borrowed for malaria, erosion control, education, healthcare, etc. So far, this government pays hundreds of millions of Naira every month to service these debts and we are not complaining. It is good for Anambra once we can show the impacts.”

The state government further stated that as at when Obi left office, he left behind a state without any functioning urban or rural water schemes; increasing insecurity and increased poverty, ostensibly dead public schools and dead public hospitals with grossly inadequate teachers and medical personnel (indeed 44% of all communities in Anambra, 78 out of 179) did not and still do not have any public primary schools (and this administration is only beginning to close the gap).”

They insisted he also left a decrepit infrastructure with huge urban slums, etc. “Only about 27% of Anambra residents patronised public health institutions because of poor quality and nonfunctionality (he even admitted abandoning public health system at the recent NBA conference). We are convinced that many Ndi Anambra would not have minded if Peter Obi had borrowed to fix public schools and hospitals, water schemes, infrastructure, or even to reduce poverty and insecurity. Debt, especially for bankable projects and human capital development, is justifiable. So, Peter Obi should stop being irked as if all debt is bad.”

The statement also said Obi owed verified salaries, gratuity, and pension to retired teachers and staff of Water Corporation, saying his statement on clearing all inherited arrears of pensions, salaries and gratuities were patently false, but it would not want to get into the debate between him and his predecessors regarding which arrears were paid by them or by him.

“Obi owed verified salaries, gratuity, and pension to retired teachers and staff of Water Corporation. Obi made very strong statements about clearing all inherited arrears of pensions, salaries and gratuities. That claim is patently false. We do not want to get into the debate between him and his predecessors regarding which arrears were paid by them or by him. So, Your Excellency, you owed salaries, pensions and gratuities. Many of these people are still alive and can testify. It is not good to speak loudly without facts or with fabricated figures. How can you say that if we show one person that you owed you will quit your 2027 presidential campaign? No, we don’t want you to quit and we wish you well. But you obviously lied: you owed many, not one, and those debts are yet to be fully cleared even today!”

Mefor spoke about Obi’s lies on Ecological fund account or deposit with the First Bank of Nigeria, UNIZIK Branch, Awka, he added that Obi wrote without any equivocation that as at the date he left office, 17th March, 2014, he left the “balance of over N2.13 billion in a First Bank Account No.2018779464, UNIZIK Branch, Awka. He subsequently charged that if the claim is found to be false, he would stop campaigning. Well, we have obtained a certified print out of the said account from inception to date. First, the account is an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) – Consolidated Revenue Account, and not an ecological fund account. Second, from 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount—whether as inflow or balance—in the account.

“Since Peter Obi raised the issue and admitted that his government received such an amount and it is evident that no such an amount ever entered into the account that he cited, it behoves on Peter Obi to tell us where exactly his government kept the money or is the money missing? There must be something about this N2.13bn that he should bring it up even when it was never mentioned by the Commissioner. Curious!”

The above release had opened a floodgate of debates, not just in Anambra but across the country, with many people arguing either in favour of the Anambra State government or Obi.

Even the presidency has been attracted to the matter, with spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Bayo Onanuga calling on Obi to halt his ambition with the expose by the Anambra State government.

Though it looks like the revelation has further endeared Soludo to the President Bola Tinubu administration and also confirmed his mantra; Progressives are working together, the release has also caused a huge backlash on him with many taking side with Obi, insisting that Soludo had shown too much hatred for his brother, Obi.

Many have wondered why Soludo will continue to refer to Obi 13 years after he had governed and exited the state and also moved on. While many think it’s simply politics and the quest by Soludo to look good in the eyes of the president, so as to curry the favour that may land him a vice presidential ticket in 2031, others think it’s envy. Many others who analyzed the relationship between Soludo and Obi see this as a fight between two brothers.

But media Adviser to Obi, Dr Valentine Obienyem insisted the fight was one sided and involved only Soludo fighting an imaginary Obi, who is not even aware of any battle. He said Soludo was simply at war with himself, without Obi even aware that he was in a fight with anyone.

“Kindly show me evidence of where Obi has fought him (Soludo). Nowhere! It is only that, once in a while, when a sturdy blow from Soludo becomes a killer punch, Obi will defend himself a little. Obi recognises the fact that “na adịghị ibuo anyi ara.” (two people can’t be mad at same time).

“You may not know how careful Obi is when it comes to governance and his conduct as a former governor. He has every instrument with which to bully Soludo, but he is very reasonable and avoids doing so to the core. Let me go behind the scenes and give you an example. Obi largely avoids stepping out at an event while Soludo is there, except when it is somewhat imperative. During the last Standing Committee of the entire Anglican Committee, with the Primate present at Amichi, Obi arrived when Soludo was still there and refused to leave his vehicle while waiting for Soludo to leave. Prof Chinyere Stella Okunna and I urged him to go in, since he had a flight to catch. Obi said he did not want it to appear as if he had deliberately entered while Soludo was still there, because the applause that might follow him could create the wrong impression. He said that if the service was still on, he would have entered to share in the divine benefit flowing from it. He would rather miss the flight than create a wrong impression. He does this all the time. He is not in a contest with Soludo.”

Obienyem lamented that on the other hand, Soludo appears to believe that he is in a contest with Obi, for reasons best known to him. “Every day on Facebook, his aides spend more time trying to discredit Obi, while we scarcely respond to them, because our response will add nothing to what the world already knows about this seeming obsession with Obi. Recently, they inaugurated 230 media boys and girls with the specific mandate to fight Obi. Meanwhile, Obi keeps telling his people to leave Soludo alone. You see, it is a one-directional fight.

“Indeed, over 70 per cent of Soludo’s public speeches end with him throwing jabs at Obi. I often wonder what would have become of Obi if he did not have organic supporters who always take up his fights, even when he himself prefers pacifism. In many instances, Obi says nothing, does nothing and simply moves on, while his supporters, unable to stomach what they perceive as unjustified attacks, take up the matter themselves.

“Honestly, many of the more reasonable commissioners and aides of Soludo regularly call me to lament what their principal is doing. They see Obi as a light in the state and regret what they regard as a futile attempt to extinguish that light. They will end by adding: “ ima na oga anyi bu eze onye agwana m(our Oga doesn’t take advice).”

“I want people to get it right: two brothers are not fighting each other. A fight requires two willing combatants. What we have seen so far is largely one-sided. Obi has not made Soludo the subject of his public speeches, has not gone around attacking him, and has not mobilised his supporters to wage a campaign of personal attacks against him. Even when he is criticised, he generally responds only when necessary and then moves on. The situation, as I see it, is more like Cain trying to kill Abel out of jealousy and insecurity than two brothers engaged in a mutual fight. So far, Obi has refused to enter the ring with him. His aides are also largely restrained, and that is observable. If anything, the restraint on Obi’s side is precisely what makes the constant attacks and counter-attacks so difficult to describe as a “war between two brothers. If we were determined to fight Soludo, believe me, it would be prankistion. But nobody is interested,” Obienyem stated.

As the debate rages, Obi appears to be gaining more supporters especially in Anambra where many now sympathize with him for the brazen attacks. But for Soludo, this is not a battle, but an attempt to set the records straight for posterity sake. His aides say the revelation is not a witch hunt against Obi, insisting that Soludo still sees Obi as his brother.

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