Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said he left office without the state owing workers salaries, gratuities or pensions, or contractors and suppliers whose completed projects had been verified and certified.
Obi made the statement during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday while responding to questions over loans and other liabilities allegedly linked to his tenure as governor.
The former governor said he did not obtain any loan from a financial institution or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight years in office.
“I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State,” he said.
Obi further stated that as of the day he handed over power, the state had no outstanding salary, gratuity or pension payments due to workers scheduled to be paid by the government.
“On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I served, was not owing any salary, gratuity or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government,” he said.
He also maintained that the state did not owe any contractor or supplier who had completed their work and had their projects properly certified and verified.
“We were not owing any contractor or supplier who had executed his job, certified and verified. Not one,” Obi added.
According to him, obligations relating to incomplete projects could not be classified as outstanding debts until the work had been completed, verified and certified in line with the terms of the relevant contracts.
Addressing the disagreement between his administration and the current Anambra State Government over loans and liabilities allegedly connected to his tenure, Obi said he did not view the matter as a personal dispute with Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
He described Soludo as the governor of his state whom he respects, while urging political leaders to allow all presidential candidates to campaign freely ahead of the election.
Obi said Nigerians should be given the opportunity to decide who they want to govern them, urging political leaders to focus on the country’s challenges and the hardship facing citizens rather than what he described as unnecessary distractions.
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