The Anambra State Government has released documents showing the payment of ₦363.381 million as the second tranche of salary arrears owed to former staff, pensioners and next-of-kin of workers of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation (ANSWC) and Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA).

The development has intensified the ongoing dispute between Governor Charles Soludo’s administration and former Governor Peter Obi over outstanding workers’ entitlements and the financial obligations allegedly inherited by successive administrations in the state.

Presenting the documents as “Part 3: Evidence that lying is in Peter Obi’s DNA,” the Soludo camp accused the former governor of misleading Nigerians over his record on workers’ entitlements.

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“Peter Obi knows we know he’s lying,” the statement said, alleging that the arrears were among workers’ entitlements left unpaid during Obi’s eight years as governor.

According to the documents, the ₦363.381 million payment represents the second tranche provided for under an out-of-court settlement reached between the Anambra State Government and representatives of the affected workers on February 6, 2024.

A memo dated May 22, 2025, and signed by the then Head of Service, Dame Theodora Okwy Igwegbe, mni, requested the release of the second tranche, citing Article 7 of the Terms of Settlement.

The memo stated that ₦363.381 million was due for payment in 2025 under the agreement.

A subsequent Ministry of Finance document dated June 24, 2025, confirmed the release of the funds through Capital Expenditure Release Warrant (CERW) No. 67/2025.

The Soludo administration had earlier paid the first tranche under the settlement, with the government saying the payments were aimed at resolving long-standing salary claims involving workers of the two defunct agencies.

Dispute Over When the Arrears Originated
The latest documents have become central to the political disagreement over whether the outstanding entitlements can properly be attributed to Obi’s administration.

The Soludo camp argues that the continued settlement payments demonstrate that unresolved workers’ liabilities remained after Obi left office in 2014.

Obi’s camp, however, has disputed the characterization. His supporters maintain that his administration inherited substantial salary, pension and gratuity arrears from earlier administrations and cleared billions of naira in outstanding obligations during his tenure.

They have also argued that some of the liabilities involving workers of the defunct agencies originated before Obi became governor in 2006.

The settlement documents establish that the Anambra Government entered into an agreement in 2024 to resolve the outstanding claims and that a second payment of ₦363.381 million was subsequently released.

However, the documents themselves do not conclusively establish that all the underlying arrears were incurred during Obi’s tenure.

Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has called on the World Bank and Nigerian banks to verify records relating to the debt claims made against his administration, insisting that the figures being presented by the state government should be subjected to documentary scrutiny.

Obi made the call during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, September 24, 2026, while responding to the Anambra State Government’s claims over loans allegedly incurred during his eight-year tenure.

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The former governor specifically urged the World Bank to provide records showing the actual drawdowns from the facilities linked to Anambra, rather than relying on the total amount originally approved or contracted.

“Please publish these documents. I’m urging you, please. The World Bank is in Abuja; they can give you the history of the drawdowns,” Obi said.

He also challenged the relevant Nigerian banks to verify the financial records he said were contained in his 2014 handover documents.

“The banks mentioned here are Nigerian banks; you have access to their headquarters. Ask them whether this money was there,” he added.

Obi’s comments came amid a dispute over the Anambra Government’s earlier claim that eight external loan facilities associated with his administration had an outstanding balance of about N127.4bn as of June 30, 2026.

The state had linked the loans to projects in areas including education, healthcare, erosion control and malaria prevention.

The former governor disputed the presentation, arguing that approved loan facilities should not automatically be treated as money borrowed or spent if the funds were not actually drawn down.

He maintained that some of the funding arrangements involved Federal Government-backed concessionary financing and said the World Bank records could establish when the money was accessed.

The controversy has since shifted towards the actual amount drawn from some of the facilities.

Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, reportedly acknowledged during an Arise TV appearance that the government had not properly verified the amount actually drawn from a $123m facility before citing the larger figure. He said the government would seek clarification from the relevant authorities.

The development has added another layer to the disagreement between Obi and the Anambra Government over the state’s financial position at the end of his administration.

Obi has consistently maintained that he left office in March 2014 without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor obligations, while the state government has continued to dispute aspects of his account of the state’s inherited liabilities.

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s prolonged absence from Nigeria, saying Nigerians deserve to know the President’s whereabouts amid the country’s security challenges.

Obi made the remarks on Arise TV on Thursday while discussing the President’s absence from the country and the situation surrounding other senior government officials.

According to Obi, the issue was not simply that Tinubu was outside Nigeria, but that he had remained abroad beyond the period initially announced for his trip.

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“It’s not just that he’s out of the country. He’s out of the country beyond the days he was supposed to be. Beyond the days they even said he was going for,” Obi said.

He also noted that Vice-President Kashim Shettima was outside the country, while Senate President Godswill Akpabio was also reportedly abroad and the Senate was not in session.

“The Vice President is not in the country. And I understand the Senate President is out of the country, the Senate is not in session,” he said.

Obi expressed concern about the situation against the backdrop of insecurity and recent incidents involving the deaths of suspected illegal miners in Niger State.

“We don’t need this level of rascality at this moment in time, when Nigerians are being kidnapped, being killed, things are… we need a country where we have somebody, where we have competence, capacity, and compassion,” he said.

Referring to the deaths recorded in Niger State, Obi said the presence of the country’s chief executive was particularly important during a crisis.

“Look at Niger State now, where 10 people… where some young people have died for nothing,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor argued that while there is a chain of command within government, delegation should not replace the physical presence of the country’s leader during critical situations.

“It is… the CEO being present is critical at a time of crisis. Not delegation. Yes, you have a chain of command,” Obi said.

He subsequently asked where the President was and insisted that Nigerians should be informed.

“Where is the President? Nigerians ought to know,” he said.

Obi also said that, if elected president in 2027, he would make his whereabouts publicly known whenever he travelled.

“If I travel today, I tell people where I am. When I become President, Charles, people will know where I am 24 hours,” he said

“That is public space, public office,” Obi added.

The comments come amid continuing public debate over the absence of the President and Vice-President from Nigeria.