Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said he has no disagreement with his successor, Chukwuma Soludo, declaring that he will not seek the governorship of any state again.

Obi made the clarification on Friday while responding to issues that had recently generated public discussion, including the controversy over the financial obligations associated with projects implemented during his tenure as Anambra governor.

The former governor, who said he had remained silent in recent days because he was mourning his late elder brother and friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe, said he was not interested in returning to the governorship, even if the Constitution was amended.

“I wish to assure the public that I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria. I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended”, he stated.

Obi also appealed to governors to allow presidential candidates and other contestants to campaign freely in their states, irrespective of their political affiliations. He said, “Accordingly, I appeal to governors to support whichever presidential candidate they choose while also permitting and assisting other presidential candidates and contenders for other offices to campaign freely and without interruption in their states. Ultimately, voters should be allowed to determine whom they wish to serve them.”

He added that political actors should focus on the challenges confronting Nigerians rather than engage in distractions.

“On the Anambra debt question, I have remained silent over the past few days because I have been grieving the loss of my very dear elder brother and friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe. However, the time has come for me to address some of the matters that have occupied public discussion in recent days. I respectfully urge everyone to concentrate on the existential challenges confronting Nigeria and the hardships endured by its citizens, rather than on the needless distractions that have become widespread in our politics.”

His comments came amid a disagreement between the Anambra State Government and Obi over external borrowings associated with projects undertaken during his administration. https://punchng.com/anambra-govt-counters-obi-alleges-n127bn-124m-debt/

The state government had said eight external borrowings linked to projects during Obi’s tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77m, with $92.35m outstanding as of June 30, 2026, based on figures from the Debt Management Office.

Obi rejected the characterisation of the facilities as “debt owed by Peter Obi”, saying they were primarily World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development development programmes negotiated by the Federal Government and accessed by participating states through subsidiary arrangements.

He said the figures being cited should be separated into the amount approved, the amount actually drawn and the balance outstanding when he left office. “The government has combined these distinct categories, added them together, and described the resulting US$123.77 million as ‘loans left by Peter Obi.’ That is an incorrect application of public-sector accounting”, he argued.

Obi further maintained that he did not personally approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue a bond on behalf of the state. He said, “Regarding the multilateral funding inaccurately described as ‘debt owed by Peter Obi’ in Anambra State, I wish to state unequivocally, as Governor of Anambra State, I did not approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue a bond on behalf of the state.

“Indeed, at his farewell ceremony, the then Director-General of the DMO, Abraham Nwankwo, appointed me chairman and declared that, during his 10 years in office, I was the only state governor who had not approached him for a loan facility.”

He also said his administration left no unpaid salaries, gratuities or pensions, and no verified debts owed to contractors or suppliers. “When I left office, the Anambra State Government owed no unpaid salaries, gratuities, or pensions. Neither did it owe any contractor or supplier who had completed work that the government had verified and certified.”

Obi said the issues surrounding the development financing should be considered in the context of how the facilities were approved, accessed and repaid.

“The eight facilities identified were primarily World Bank and IFAD development programs negotiated by the Federal Government, with participating states receiving access to the funds through subsidiary arrangements. They were not conventional commercial loans that I personally secured during my tenure. This does not suggest that Anambra had no repayment responsibilities; rather, each facility must be examined in light of its approval, effectiveness, drawdown, and repayment record”, he explained.

He also cited Debt Management Office figures for Anambra’s external debt at different points, questioning how the $123.77m figure attributed to his administration was arrived at.

“The clearest contradiction appears in the government’s own figures. It states that the original facilities amounted to approximately US$123.77 million and that US$92.35 million remained outstanding in June 2026. However, the DMO’s published records showed Anambra’s total external debt at approximately US$18 million when I began my tenure in March 2006, about US$30 million in March 2014, when I left office, and approximately US$45.15 million as of 31 December 2014, nine months after my departure.

“The Anambra State Government must therefore clarify how a state whose recorded external debt was about US$30 million in March 2014 and US$45.15 million in December 2014 could supposedly have inherited US$123.77 million from Peter Obi, who left office in March of that same year”, he concluded.

Source: punchng.com

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A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, has rejected his inclusion in the policy team of the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for the 2027 election.

Moghalu, in a statement posted on his X handle on Thursday, said he was neither consulted nor asked for his consent before his name was published as a member of Atiku’s campaign policy team.

His reaction came hours after Atiku’s campaign unveiled its Presidential Campaign Council, naming Moghalu among members of its Policy Team.

The team is chaired by economist and banker Mohammed Hayatudeen, with Professor Mohammed Sagagi as deputy chairman.

“I am surprised to see a statement from @atiku and @ADCNig campaign team including my name as a member of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s policy team for the 2027 presidential campaign.

“For the record: I was not consulted and did not give my consent to my name being published as a member of the ADC candidate’s policy team.

“I am NOT, in fact a member of Atiku’s policy team, even unofficially or in any advisory capacity,” Moghalu said.

Moghalu, who was a presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party in the 2019 election, said he had quit partisan politics in Nigeria in 2022.

“I have quit partisan politics in Nigeria since 2022. I have maintained, and continue to maintain, my non-partisan posture in our country’s national affairs.

“I am not a member or sympathiser of any political party in Nigeria,” he said.

He said his current engagements included serving as president of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation, IGET Africa, which he described as a non-partisan public policy think tank and executive education academy, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Sogato Strategies, a geopolitical risk and regulatory strategy advisory firm.

Moghalu said his decision to remain outside partisan politics did not mean he was disengaged from national affairs.

“I remain committed to my country, Nigeria and its progress, but such commitment does not have to entail ANY partisan alignment.

“I have adopted the path of statesmanship, not partisanship,” he said.

The clarification follows the unveiling of Atiku’s campaign structure on Thursday, with Kashim Ibrahim-Imam named chairman, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as deputy chairman and Senator Austin Akobundu as Director-General and Campaign Manager.

The campaign said its Policy Team would develop policy proposals addressing issues including the cost of living, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.

Source: punchng.com

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The Peoples Democratic Party in Benue State has condemned the directive issued by Governor Hyacinth Alia, ordering the 23 local government areas to maintain attendance registers for their workers.

The Benue State Local Government Service Commission, in a letter dated September 24, 2026, and signed by the Permanent Secretary, John Akume, on behalf of the chairman of the commission, had directed all LGAs to maintain daily staff attendance registers across departments.

The circular read, “I am directed to inform you that owing to the directives from His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev. Dr Hyacinth Alia, all establishments in the state civil service are to keep and maintain attendance registers.

“To this end, all local government councils are directed to comply with the above directive by opening attendance registers for staff across Departments.

“These registers are to be opened and closed by Heads of Departments daily at 8:30 am, as only staff who attain the minimum punctuality of 25 days would be eligible for payment of salaries.”

The permanent secretary advised that all the local government councils must adhere strictly to the directive beginning from  October 1, 2026.

Reacting, the opposition PDP described the directive as “draconian and anti-worker.”

In a statement issued by the party’s state publicity secretary, Bright Antyo and made available to journalists in Makurdi on Thursday, the PDP said the directive negated the judgment of the Supreme Court, which affirmed the financial and administrative autonomy of local governments in Nigeria.

The PDP statement read, “This directive is not only draconian and anti-worker, but also a direct affront to the spirit and letter of the landmark Supreme Court judgment of July 2024, which affirmed the financial and administrative autonomy of local governments in Nigeria.

“Autonomy means independence. Autonomy means local governments should be free to take decisions concerning their administration, personnel management and internal operations without interference from the state government.

“A governor who genuinely believes in local government autonomy cannot simultaneously act as a supervisor, inspector, disciplinarian and paymaster of local government employees.”

The major opposition party in the state stated that the directive had exposed the contradiction between the governor’s public rhetoric and the reality on the ground.

“While the administration continues to celebrate supposed local government autonomy in public speeches, its actions reveal a desperate determination to retain control over affairs of the 23 councils through intimidation and despotic directives.

“Even more disturbing is the threat that workers who fail to meet a prescribed attendance requirement would be denied salaries.

“The authority to determine staff attendance, discipline workers and administer payroll belongs to the appropriate local government authorities, not the Governor’s Office or agencies acting on its behalf.

“Attempting to centralise such powers undermines the constitutional status of Local Governments and reduces elected council officials to mere spectators in the administration of their councils.”

The opposition PDP asked if the governor had been receiving directives from the Federal Government on how to administer the state.

The PDP said that with the directive, the third tier of government had been reduced to an appendage of the governor.

“They neither possess the practical freedom nor the financial capacity to award contracts independently.

“The governor runs the councils as extensions of his office, while any local government chairman who dares to complain or assert independence is swiftly suspended and eventually forced out of office,” the statement concluded.

Source: punchng.com

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