By Sunday Ameh
The Presidential Campaign Council of President Bola Tinubu has criticised the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, over his record as governor of Anambra State.
The council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, in a statement, alleged that Obi’s eight-year administration in Anambra State did not match the positive image of fiscal prudence that had been associated with his tenure.
Alake claimed that Obi and his supporters had, over the past four years, portrayed his administration as financially prudent and presented the former governor as a politician who left Anambra without a debt burden.
However, the campaign council spokesperson described those claims as misleading, arguing that disclosures by the Anambra State Government had raised questions about the former governor’s financial record.
“The facade of falsehood built around Peter Obi, the NDC presidential candidate, has now been torn to shreds, with Obi’s persona deconstructed after disclosures by the Anambra State Government, which responded to Obi’s challenge to verify his record,” Alake said.
According to the campaign council, the Anambra State Government reported that Obi spent about $4.05 billion, equivalent to approximately N5.4 trillion, during his eight years in office.
It also cited the state government as saying that Obi’s administration contracted $123.77 million in external loans during his tenure.
The council further said the state government disclosed that, as of March 17, 2014, when Obi left office, Anambra had eight different external borrowings for projects covering areas such as malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare.
It added that subsequent administrations, including the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, continued to service the debts.
The claims form part of the growing political debate over the records of presidential contenders and their previous public offices ahead of the 2027 general election.
Obi and his political allies have previously highlighted his record in Anambra as part of arguments about his stewardship of public resources, while opponents have questioned aspects of the record.
The latest criticism by Tinubu’s campaign council is therefore likely to add to the ongoing debate over the financial and developmental records of the major political actors ahead of 2027.
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