The Anambra State Government has alleged that the administration of former Governor Peter Obi left behind 101 road projects with outstanding liabilities of about ₦127 billion when he handed over power in 2014.

This was contained in a statement released by the state government on Saturday as part of its ongoing response to recent comments by Obi concerning the finances he left behind as governor.

According to the government, the 101 road contracts covered about 779 kilometres and had outstanding liabilities of approximately ₦127 billion at the time of the handover.

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The state government also alleged that Obi’s handover documents contained assets and projected funds which, according to its account, were not equivalent to cash available to the state.

It specifically questioned the inclusion of a purported ₦10 billion Federal Government refund in the financial position presented at the time, arguing that the money had not been received before Obi left office.

The government further alleged that some balances attributed to ministries, departments and agencies had already been expended and were therefore not available as cash.

The latest dispute follows renewed arguments over whether Obi left Anambra with substantial savings or significant financial obligations.

Obi, who served as governor from 2006 to 2014, has disputed claims that his administration left the state heavily indebted.

In a recent interview, he said he did not borrow money on behalf of Anambra and maintained that he left more than $150 million in savings and investments.

He also said the state was not owing salaries, pensions, gratuities or verified contractors when he left office.

Recall that in 2017, The Sun reported that then Governor Willie Obiano alleged that he inherited about ₦127 billion in liabilities from Obi’s administration.

The report, published on October 18, 2017, quoted Obiano as saying the liabilities came largely from 101 road contracts awarded towards the end of Obi’s tenure.

According to the report, the road projects were originally estimated at about ₦185 billion, with approximately ₦58 billion already paid, leaving more than ₦127 billion outstanding.

Obiano said his administration had completed 51 of the 101 roads within its first three-and-a-half years, while work on the remaining 50 had progressed to between 60 and 75 per cent.

The report also said Obiano identified other inherited commitments, including six thousand newly employed workers, hotels and independent power projects that required attention from his administration.

It state tha the former governor’s claimed ₦75 billion handover alongside liabilities allegedly inherited by the succeeding administration.

The 2017 report cited foreign-currency investments of about $155 million, an alleged ₦10 billion Federal Government refund and approximately ₦9 billion in cash at handover, while arguing that the liabilities attached to unfinished projects outweighed the assets.

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has said Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, cannot simultaneously support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties.

Lawal made the statement while commenting on Wike’s involvement with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political platform associated with efforts to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lawal said Wike needed to make his political position clear.

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“Our message is very very clear, be on one side, you can’t be on two sides. If you are in APC, please come out and support the APC, not you are supporting APC here and you are supporting some other political parties somewhere else,” Lawal said.

The Zamfara governor said APC governors would maintain their position on the matter despite Wike’s comments.

“We maintain our stand and the message is very clear. He can speak, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very clear, APC all the way from head to toe,” he said.

Asked whether the governors were effectively asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied, “exactly.”

Lawal also disclosed that he would discuss Wike’s political position with President Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation in France.

“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back. Let there be a clear line where this guy belongs to. It’s either he is in APC or he is out, simple. So I go with my brothers, the governors,” he said.

Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has repeatedly expressed support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election while maintaining his association with the Rainbow Coalition.

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said he supports the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election while maintaining that he will not oppose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s candidacy.

Otti made the statement during an interview on Arise TV on Friday while discussing the 2027 presidential election and his position on Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The governor said he had previously stated that he had a presidential candidate, but clarified that he was referring to the Labour Party candidate.

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Asked if he was supporting the candidate, Otti said, “Yes.”

However, when questioned about whether he was supporting Tinubu, the Abia governor said Tinubu had a right to contest the 2027 election.

“What do you expect me to say? To say I’m not supporting him?” Otti asked.

He added that he had already stated that Tinubu had the right to run and that nobody could stop him from contesting.
Otti also explained that he was not in a position to oppose Tinubu’s candidacy.

“I’m not going to oppose his candidacy, and it is not within my right, even as a human being to… so I can choose what I want to do,” he said.

According to him, opposing a candidate while being part of government could create internal conflict, stressing that disagreements over policies should be addressed within government meetings.

“When you say opposition and you are part of a government, then what you are driving towards is implosion. So if I do have a problem with anything, I’ll sit down in one of our meetings and I’ll make my point,” he said.

Otti further said some policies implemented by the Tinubu administration resonate with his thinking, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy.

“Quite frankly, there are a lot of things that we have talked about now that he has implemented that resonate with me and my thinking,” he said.

He maintained that the fuel subsidy was unsustainable, adding that any decision to reintroduce it would require adequate funding.

Otti also noted that, as a governor and member of the National Economic Council, he is part of discussions and decisions concerning policies implemented by the federal government.