The Anambra State Government says it is still servicing loans taken by previous administrations, including those of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano. Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during the Ndi Anambra podcast released by the state’s New Media team.
Okafor said monthly deductions are still being made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee allocation to service inherited debts. “These loans were borrowed during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano and other past governors,” he said. Obi governed Anambra from 2006 to 2014, before handing over to Obiano who served until 2022.
He stated that the Soludo administration has not taken any commercial bank loan since assuming office in March 2022. “It is on record that this Soludo government has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration. Our domestic debt as of today is near zero balance,” Okafor said.
The commissioner added that the government has reduced the state’s overall debt by more than 83 per cent and cleared most domestic liabilities, including unpaid contracts, gratuities and pension arrears. Some outstanding obligations are external loans from institutions like the World Bank, with repayments still deducted from federal allocation.
Okafor said the repayment of inherited debts has created more fiscal space for the state. “In a nutshell, we have been able to create more fiscal space for Anambra State by paying off the backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi,” he said.
