NEWS
Presidency Challenges Obi to Quit 2027 Race Over Anambra Debt Claims
Presidential media aide Bayo Onanuga has challenged former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi to follow through on his pledge to stop campaigning if claims that his administration left behind debts are proven to be true.
Onanuga made the challenge on Wednesday while reacting to the latest allegations by the Anambra State Government concerning the financial record of Obi’s administration.
In a post on X, Onanuga wrote: “Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise.
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“Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things.
“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?”
The statement came a day after Obi rejected allegations that he left Anambra with unpaid financial obligations when he handed over power.
Obi, in a statement posted on Tuesday, insisted that his administration had cleared more than ₦35bn in historical gratuities and arrears and left the state without outstanding salaries, pensions or gratuities.
He also maintained that his administration did not owe suppliers or contractors whose projects had been duly executed and certified.
“At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified,” Obi said.
The former governor also challenged anyone disputing his account to produce evidence, declaring: “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”
Ecological fund controversy
Obi further disputed claims surrounding an alleged ₦2bn ecological fund.
According to him, the money was released about three months before the end of his administration for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.
He said he deliberately refused to spend the funds before leaving office, insisting that the money should be preserved for his successor because it was tied to a specific project.
Obi said more than ₦2.13bn remained untouched in First Bank Account No. 2018779464 at the time he left office.
He also said the ecological fund was separate from the more than ₦75bn in savings and investments he claimed his administration left behind.
Anambra government disputes Obi’s account
The Anambra State Government, however, has presented a different account of the state’s financial position.
The state’s Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, responded to Obi’s claims in a statement detailing what the government described as records of public debts and liabilities associated with his administration.
The government said Obi’s administration contracted eight multilateral development loans between 2007 and 2013, covering projects in health, education, agriculture, community development and erosion control.
According to the figures contained in the government’s statement, the facilities had a combined original value of $123.77m, with an outstanding balance of $92.35m as of June 30, 2026.
The government said the current administration continues to service the inherited obligations.
The Anambra government also disputed Obi’s claim that he left no unpaid personnel liabilities.
It alleged that 16 months of primary school teachers’ salary arrears inherited from the administration of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju were verified during Obi’s tenure, but that only five months were paid, leaving 11 months outstanding.
It further alleged that salary arrears involving workers of the defunct Anambra Water Corporation remained unresolved and eventually resulted in court judgments.
The Soludo administration, according to the statement, subsequently negotiated a settlement involving the Water Corporation workers and began payment in three tranches.
The state government also said it had cleared about ₦22bn in inherited gratuity arrears.
First Bank account under scrutiny
The government further challenged Obi’s account of the alleged ₦2.13bn ecological fund.
According to the state’s position, certified bank statements from the account’s inception showed that First Bank Account No. 2018779464 was an Internally Generated Revenue/Consolidated Revenue account and not an ecological fund account.
The government claimed that the records did not show an inflow or balance corresponding to the ₦2.13bn cited by Obi.
It also questioned Obi’s claim that his administration left about ₦75bn in savings and investments, calling for documentary records to substantiate the figure.
The dispute follows comments by Anambra Commissioner for Finance Izuchukwu Okafor that the state was still servicing loans inherited from previous administrations, including those of Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.
Okafor said the Soludo administration had not borrowed from any commercial bank since taking office but was continuing to service inherited obligations.
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the names of six nominees for executive director positions at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to the Senate for confirmation, retaining three existing directors while introducing three new nominees.
The nominations were conveyed to the Senate in a letter from the President, according to a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The six nominees comprise three executive directors seeking reappointment and three new candidates proposed for different leadership positions within the petroleum regulatory agency.
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The officials nominated for reappointment are Abiodun Adeniji, Executive Director of Finance and Accounts; Ogbugo Kalu Ukoha, Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure; and Dr Mustapha Lamorde, Executive Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Community.
The three new nominees are Mobolaji Tajudeen Musa, proposed as Executive Director of Hydrocarbon Processing Plants, Installations and Transportation Infrastructure; Ogechukwu Modie, nominated as Executive Director of Economic Regulations and Strategic Planning; and Said Abutalib, nominated as Executive Director of Corporate Services and Administration.
If confirmed by the Senate, all six nominees will serve five-year terms.
President Tinubu urged the lawmakers to consider the nominations expeditiously, stating that the appointments would ensure institutional continuity and strengthen the Authority’s oversight capacity.
In a related development, the President has approved the appointment of Jumoke Gafar as Secretary to the Board/Authority and Legal Adviser of the NMDPRA.
Her appointment is subject to the completion of the statutory processes stipulated under Section 46 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The latest nominations follow Tinubu’s appointment of Engr. Rabiu Abdullahi Umar as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA in April.
The Senate’s consideration and confirmation of the six nominees will determine their formal appointment to the respective executive director positions.
In the bid to improve environmental sanitation, the Osun State Government plans to engage with immediate effect, able-bodied men and women as ad hoc road sweepers.
Biztellers reports that the exercise would cover designated areas of the state.
The recruitment exercise, announced by the Osun State Taskforce on Environmental Sanitation (OSTES) is open to medically fit able bodied men and women who are residents of the areas where they intend to work.
According to the public service announcement, applicants must be at least 30 years of age, medically fit and resident in their preferred areas of assignment.
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The designated areas mentioned by the Taskforce include Akoda- Abere, Ataoja -Ogo-Oluwa, Olaiya -Old Garage, Igbonna -Ayetoro, Power Line – Ota-Efun and Kobongbogboe.
Other areas covered by the exercise are Ataoja- Dele Yes Sir, Stadium- Testing Ground and Ilesa- Garage, as well as Oke-Fia -Dada Estate, Dele Yes Sir- Lameco and Oroki Housing Estate.
Interested applicants are required to submit application letters to the General Manager, Osun Waste Management Agency, at its office located at the former Boreepo House, West Bye-Pass, Ring Road, Osogbo.
The announcement further stated that the deadline for submission of applications is Thursday, November 12th, 2026.
The recruitment is expected to support routine road sweeping and complement the state’s efforts to promote a cleaner, healthier and safer environment.
Applicants have been advised to ensure that they meet the stated requirements and reside within the areas where they seek to be deployed.
It would be recalled that the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, had earlier declared every Thursday of the week as Environmental Sanitation Day throughout the state during which offices, markets, shopping malls and homes among other public places are to be swept clean between 8am and 10am.
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) said it has sponsored nearly 15,000 Nigerians for studies at home and abroad, with 1,571 scholars currently studying in 15 countries, as of July 2026.
This is as the Fund is now asking the United Kingdom (UK) to help address visa rejections, high tuition fees and the monitoring of its scholars, which it says are putting pressure on the programme.
The executive secretary of the Fund, Prof Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, made the request on Tuesday at a meeting with the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Pete Vowles. The meeting was held at the General Shehu Musa Yar’adua University of Geological Sciences and Engineering Technology, Kaduna.
According to Aliyu, the Fund had sponsored the beneficiaries through its Overseas Scholarship Scheme and In-Country Scholarship Scheme, for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
He said that as of July 2026, 1,571 scholars were studying in 15 countries and more than 120 partner institutions. He added that demand for PTDF scholarships was still rising.
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The executive secretary said the UK had for decades been the Fund’s main partner in building skills for Nigeria’s energy sector.
He said the PTDF worked with 24 British universities, including Robert Gordon, Strathclyde, Portsmouth, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester.
He said the partnership had helped train thousands of Nigerian engineers, geoscientists, researchers and energy professionals.
Aliyu also said the Fund worked with institutions in Germany, France and Malaysia, where it sought cheaper ways to train Nigerians. He said the Fund still wanted to keep its long-standing ties with the UK.
The ES told the High Commissioner that the Fund was facing problems with its UK partners. He listed these as tuition fees that were high compared with other European countries, and visa rejections.
“I would like to take this opportunity to highlight several challenges we are facing with our UK partners for the High Commissioner’s attention,” he said.
He said the Fund also wanted a plan to monitor its scholars in the UK, with support from the UK government and the host universities.
Aliyu did not give figures for the fee increases or the number of visa rejections.
In response, Vowles said the British High Commission understood the difficulties, especially those linked to visas and increases in tuition fees.
“We will take these concerns away as a team and communicate them to the relevant stakeholders within the UK system,” he said.
The High Commissioner said the PTDF and the High Commission had worked together to simplify the process. He said the PTDF’s recognition as a government-approved sponsor was expected to help.
“Having the PTDF recognised as a government-approved sponsor will hopefully make the process much smoother,” he said.
He did not promise any change in fees or visa rules.
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