The Presidency has challenged former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi to honour his pledge to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if claims of outstanding liabilities from his tenure are established.

The challenge was issued by Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X on Wednesday, following the release of financial records by the Anambra State Government disputing Obi’s claim that he left office without outstanding debts.

Onanuga said Obi had previously stated that he would stop campaigning if evidence emerged showing that his administration left the state indebted.

He argued that the latest records released by the state government had raised questions over unpaid obligations involving Water Corporation workers, teachers, pensions and gratuities, and asked whether Obi would now fulfil his pledge.

The Anambra State Government, in a statement by its Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said eight external loans linked to projects implemented during or inherited by the Obi administration remained outstanding.

The government put the combined balance of the loans at $92.35 million, equivalent to about N127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026. The loans, it said, were connected to projects covering areas including malaria control, erosion management, healthcare, education, community development and agricultural development.

The state government also disputed Obi’s claim that he left office without unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities, alleging that financial obligations involving retired teachers and Water Corporation workers remained outstanding after his tenure.

In its statement titled “Gov Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies,” the government said the issue was not whether borrowing was inherently wrong but whether the state’s financial obligations were accurately represented.

It said the outstanding external loans were serviced by subsequent administrations and maintained that borrowing for projects such as healthcare, education, erosion control and other development programmes could be justified where the funds were used for such purposes.

The state government further disputed Obi’s account of an ecological fund allegedly left in a First Bank account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion project.

Mefor said the account identified by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue Consolidated Revenue Account rather than an ecological fund account. He added that a certified record obtained by the government did not show the N2.13 billion balance claimed by the former governor.

Obi, however, has maintained that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.

He also challenged anyone with evidence contradicting his account of Anambra’s finances to produce it, saying he would stop campaigning if such evidence was established.

The dispute has now shifted to competing accounts of Anambra’s financial position when Obi handed over power in March 2014, with the former governor maintaining his position and the current state government presenting records it says contradict his claims.