Oseloka Obaze, former Secretary to the Anambra State Government under ex-Governor Peter Obi, has spoken out on the renewed controversy surrounding the financial position of the state when Obi handed over power to Willie Obiano in 2014.
Obaze, who said he was personally present during the handover ceremony on March 17, 2014, disclosed that he witnessed Obi sign the handover documents and Obiano receive and acknowledge his copies of the records.
According to the former SSG, the documents presented to the incoming administration included certified bank statements and a comprehensive handover report detailing the financial position, assets and liabilities of the Anambra State Government.
His comments come amid a renewed dispute involving Obi and the administration of Governor Charles Soludo over loans and other financial obligations allegedly inherited from previous administrations.
The Anambra State Government recently stated that it was still servicing loans incurred under previous administrations, including the administrations of Obi and Obiano.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, said deductions were still being made from Anambra’s federal allocation to service outstanding obligations.
Obi, however, has rejected the claim, maintaining that he left office without outstanding liabilities relating to salaries, pensions, gratuities and certified projects.
Obaze: I Witnessed the 2014 Handover
Amid the renewed controversy, Obaze said his account was based on firsthand knowledge of the transition process.
He maintained that the financial records handed over to Obiano clearly documented the state’s financial position at the time, including funds and investments held by the government.
A copy of the 2014 handover report released this week by Yunusa Tanko, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, listed several financial balances attributed to the Obi administration.
Among the figures contained in the document were:
- ₦27 billion in local investments;
- $156 million in foreign currency investments, valued at about ₦26.5 billion;
- ₦28.166 billion in certified balances belonging to the state and its ministries, departments and agencies;
- ₦10 billion in a Federal Government refund.
The document put the total listed balances at approximately ₦91.666 billion, while estimated liabilities were stated at about ₦5 billion, leaving a reported net balance of ₦86.666 billion.
The figures have become a central part of the renewed debate over the financial circumstances surrounding the 2014 transition.
Obiano’s 2017 Comments Recalled
Obaze also referred to the 2017 Anambra governorship debate organised by Channels Television, where he said Obiano was questioned about the financial records inherited from his predecessor.
According to Obaze, Obiano, a certified accountant and auditor, acknowledged during the debate that certain funds were available but questioned the rationale for keeping money when there was work to be done.
Obaze recalled the exchange while questioning why Obiano would have accepted and signed financial documents during the transition if he subsequently had reservations about the records.
He said:
“I recall asking him on national television how, as a certified accountant and auditor, he would sign off and accept financial documents, for which he now was expressing reservations.”
Obaze added that Obiano subsequently acknowledged that some funds were available and questioned the purpose of saving money when there were projects requiring funding.
Darius Ishaku’s Account of Anambra Airport
The former SSG also cited an account attributed to former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku.
According to Obaze, Ishaku had disclosed that Obiano told him Peter Obi left substantial funds that helped his administration undertake the construction of the Anambra Airport at Umueri.
Obaze presented the account as further evidence in support of his position that significant financial resources were available to the incoming administration following the 2014 transition.
Alex Otti Also Spoke About Funds Left by Obi
Obaze further referenced comments made by former banker and current Abia State Governor Alex Otti in 2022.
Otti had publicly stated that Obi left at least $155 million for his successor.
Otti also said he was involved in helping Obi secure Eurobonds while serving as managing director of Diamond Bank, adding that some of the investments had maturities extending into subsequent years.
The former Anambra SSG cited Otti’s comments as another public account concerning the funds and investments allegedly left by Obi at the end of his administration.
Obiano and Soludo Administrations Cite Inherited Liabilities
The renewed debate, however, is not limited to the assets and investments recorded in the 2014 handover documents.
Successive administrations have made claims about financial obligations inherited by Obiano and later administrations.
In 2015, the Obiano administration reportedly put the inherited debt burden at about ₦185 billion, a figure that was disputed by Obi’s camp.
The current Anambra administration has also released records which it said showed that the Obi administration contracted eight external loans between 2007 and 2013, with an original value of approximately $123.77 million.
The Soludo administration has maintained that some of those obligations remained outstanding and were still being serviced.
Obi’s camp, meanwhile, has continued to point to the handover documents, investments and financial balances as evidence that the state had substantial resources when he left office.
What Did Peter Obi Hand Over to Willie Obiano?
At the centre of the controversy is a broader question over how the assets, investments, cash balances and liabilities recorded during the 2014 transition should be interpreted.
The competing accounts involve different measures of Anambra State’s financial position, including inherited loans, investments, certified balances, government refunds and other obligations.
For Obaze, however, the handover process itself remains significant.
He argued that the documents were formally presented to, received and acknowledged by the incoming administration and questioned why the financial position recorded at the point of transition remains a subject of dispute more than a decade later.
He said:
“If Gov. Obiano, to whom Peter Obi handed over in 2014, would eventually acknowledge — implicitly and explicitly — that Gov. Peter Obi indeed left the stipulated funds, a fact that was also publicly corroborated by Gov. Alex Otti, in his capacity as an ex-banker, what then, one may ask, is the beef and grouse of the incumbent Anambra State Government?”
The latest intervention by Obaze has therefore added another layer to the longstanding debate over Peter Obi’s financial record in Anambra State and the liabilities inherited by subsequent administrations.