PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congres (NDC), Peter Obi, has accused state governors of creating obstacles for opposition candidates ahead of the 2027 election.
Obi made the accusation days after his renewed clash with Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo over the financial legacy of his eight-year administration.
He said governors had the right to support candidates of their choice but should not use their positions to prevent rival candidates from campaigning in their states.
His comments came during an interview on Thursday, September 24, in which he was repeatedly questioned about his growing disagreement with Soludo over loans and other liabilities allegedly inherited from his administration.
“My appeal to them is that they have the right to support any presidential candidate of their choice. But at the same time, I humbly request that they allow other presidential candidates and other candidates that might be contesting for various posts to be allowed to campaign freely in the spirit of democracy.”
The former Anambra governor said he expected the political space ahead of 2027 to remain open to all candidates, regardless of their party affiliation.
His comments followed a fresh dispute with Soludo’s administration over whether Obi left Anambra with outstanding debts when he handed over power in March 2014.
How Soludo-Obi debt row started
The latest confrontation began after Anambra Commissioner for Finance Izuchukwu Okafor said the Soludo administration was still servicing loans inherited from previous governments, including those of Obi and former governor Willie Obiano.
Okafor said deductions were still being made from the state’s federal allocation to repay the obligations.
Obi rejected the claim that he left Anambra owing debt, saying he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts owed to contractors and suppliers whose jobs had been completed and certified.
He subsequently challenged the Soludo administration to identify anyone he owed when he left office, saying he would end his 2027 presidential campaign if such a debt was established.
The Anambra government responded by releasing alleged details of external loan facilities it said were obtained during Obi’s tenure.
According to the state, Obi left about $123.77 million in outstanding external loan obligations when he handed over power in 2014. The government said the obligations related to eight external loan facilities and maintained that successive administrations had continued to service them.
The Soludo administration’s position is that Obi’s claim that he left Anambra without debt does not account for the outstanding loan obligations incurred during his tenure.
In Thursday’s interview, he again rejected the $123.77 million claim.
“Let me categorically state again: I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State. In the eight years I was in 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.
“We were not owing any contractor or supplier who had executed the job, certified and verified. Not one. And that is the way it is,” Obi stated.
He posited that Anambra’s foreign debt was about $18 million when he assumed office and about $30 million when he left in March 2014.
He also said he left more than $150 million in investments which, according to him, could have generated about $10 million annually for the state.
The former governor said the figures could be verified through the banks and institutions involved. He urged the government to publish the records on which its claims were based.
Obi links row to wider campaign concerns
Asked whether he believed the dispute with Soludo was connected to his presidential ambition, Obi suggested that could not be ruled out.
He said he had no personal problem with the Anambra governor but questioned why the controversy had become prominent at this stage of Soludo’s administration.
“As I speak to you, I have lots of petitions. I’ve been investigated everywhere. I’ve said it here that I’m not even sure whether I’ll still be alive at the end of this,” he said.
Obi then broadened the issue to what he described as attempts to restrict his movements and political activities in other states.
His concerns followed the September 8 incident in Benue State, where his convoy was allegedly blocked by youths while he was travelling to Yelwata to visit families affected by the 2025 killings.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M