The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has come under scrutiny following a claim by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind a loan balance of N127 billion.

The Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr. Law Mefor, made the claim while addressing the state’s finances and the debt inherited by Governor Charles Soludo’s administrations.

He said: “We have been informed that the government of HE Peter Obi verified and certified the debt of 16 months of salary arrears and agreed to pay in tranches.

“It only paid five months and no more until today. This administration has set up a committee headed by the Head of Service to finalise a new verification for us to pay.”

“The total balance of loans attributed to Obi administration stood at N127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the official exchange rate.”

“Evidently, HE 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.”

“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.”

“We are convinced that many Ndi Anambra would not have minded if HE 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, HE Peter Obi should stop being irked as if all debt is bad”.