ANAMBRA STILL SERVICING DEBTS INCURRED UNDER OBI, OBIANO

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By:Aminat Tajudeen

The Anambra State Government has disclosed that it is still servicing loans and other debts inherited from previous administrations, including those of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during an Ndi Anambra podcast published by Anambra State New Media on Monday while speaking on the state’s debt profile under Governor Chukwuma Soludo.

Okafor said the Soludo administration had not obtained any commercial bank loan since assuming office but had continued to repay debts incurred by previous governments.

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

According to the commissioner, deductions are made monthly from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee funds to service loans obtained by previous administrations.

“Yes, every month during our FAC meetings, and when you see the schedule of FAC, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” he said.

Okafor noted that some of the loans being repaid were obtained during the administrations of Obi and Obiano.

“These loans were borrowed, you know, during the time of, even, not the immediate predecessor, even during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, His Excellency, the past governors,” he said.

However, the commissioner said the Soludo administration had reduced the state’s overall debt burden by more than 83 per cent while paying off several inherited obligations.

“But I will also say that Mr Governor has not borrowed a penny. We have been able to manage the debt, the state debt, very well, that we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today. I’ve been able to repay back most of these loans,” he said.

He added that the government had cleared several legacy domestic debts, including unpaid contracts, gratuity and pension arrears.

The commissioner said, “In terms of, so, our domestic debt as of today is near-zero balance.”

On external debts, Okafor explained that repayments were automatically deducted from the state’s federal allocations in line with the terms attached to the loans, particularly those denominated in foreign currencies.

He disclosed that the state had also recently fully repaid one of its debts, identified as CAGS.

According to him, the debt-management strategy of the Soludo administration had created greater fiscal space for Anambra by clearing several liabilities inherited from previous governments.

“This administration has been able to create more by paying off, you know, backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi,” Okafor said.

However, The medai Online reported in 2022 that Obi, while speaking at an Arise TV Town Hall meeting in Abuja, had denied borrowing from any financial institution during his tenure as Anambra governor.

He said he served as governor for eight years and maintained that he left the state without borrowing from any financial institution in Nigeria.