Abia State Governor Alex Otti has again defended his long-standing claim that former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi left about $155 million in government savings when he completed his tenure in 2014.
Otti made the statement during an interview with Arise News, revisiting a financial claim that has resurfaced amid a renewed debate over the state of Anambra’s finances at the end of Obi’s administration.
The Abia governor said he was in a position to know about the funds because he was serving as the chief executive of Diamond Bank when the investments were made.
Otti explains how the money was invested
According to Otti, Obi initially intended to retain the state’s funds in naira. He said he advised the former governor to consider converting part of the money into US dollars because of the potential effect of naira depreciation.
Otti said the funds were subsequently converted and invested in financial instruments.
He maintained that his account was based on information he had personally encountered while working in the banking sector and was not simply a political argument.
The Abia governor said he had previously written about the matter in a 2020 newspaper column, where he used Anambra’s finances as an example of what he described as prudent management of public resources.
The 2020 financial account
Otti’s earlier article, published in June 2020, stated that approximately $155 million belonging to Anambra State had been invested in the tier-two capital of three Nigerian banks.
He said the investments had maturities of about five years and could generate interest of as much as nine per cent annually.
At the time, Otti estimated that the naira value of the funds had been around N25 billion when the investments were made.
He further calculated that, if the investments had been rolled over and continued earning interest, their value could have increased substantially over the years.
Otti presented the figures as an illustration of the potential benefits of saving and investing government resources rather than spending them immediately.
Debate over Anambra’s debt
The latest comments have emerged as Anambra’s finances become the subject of renewed public discussion.
The Anambra State Government has said Obi’s administration left external obligations amounting to about $123.7 million, linked to eight foreign loans. The government has also argued that some of those obligations remained outstanding after Obi left office.
Obi has rejected the characterization of the facilities as loans personally obtained by his administration. He has described them as concessionary development-support funds arranged through the Federal Government for selected states and used for specific projects.
He has also maintained that he left substantial savings and no outstanding salaries, pensions or gratuities owed by the state government when he handed over power in 2014.
Obi says savings could have covered alleged debt
Obi has argued that even if the reported $123.7 million debt figure were accepted, the savings he says he left behind would have been sufficient to offset the amount.
According to his account, the investments were generating annual returns for the state, meaning the capital could have remained intact while the income was used to meet financial obligations.
Obi has also said documents relating to the investments were included in his handover records and challenged anyone questioning the figures to verify them with the relevant banks and institutions.
Different accounts remain
The debate over Obi’s financial record in Anambra has persisted for years, with supporters pointing to the reported savings as evidence of fiscal discipline, while critics have questioned the broader financial position inherited by subsequent administrations.
Recent reporting shows that Obi continues to dispute claims that he left Anambra with unpaid debts, while the state government has maintained that outstanding loan obligations were inherited from previous administrations.
The competing accounts mean that the $155 million savings claim and the state’s reported liabilities remain separate parts of a wider dispute over how Anambra’s finances should be assessed at the end of Obi’s tenure.
Otti stands by his claim
Despite the renewed controversy, Otti said he has no reason to withdraw his earlier account.
He stressed that his 2020 article was intended to demonstrate that responsible financial management was possible in government and that his knowledge of the investment came from his position in the banking industry at the time.
The issue is likely to remain part of Nigeria’s political and economic debate as discussions about public finance, governance and the management of state resources continue.
For now, Otti maintains that Peter Obi left approximately $155 million in investments for Anambra State, while the Anambra government and Obi continue to present different accounts of the state’s liabilities and financial position when he left office.
