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 presidential contest ahead of the 2027 election took a combative turn on Thursday as the candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of worsening Nigeria’s economic fortunes, while the APC hit back by questioning his suitability for the presidency over allegations of corruption and financial impropriety.

Speaking in Akure, Ondo State, during the defection of former Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) to the ADC, Atiku urged Nigerians to vote the APC out, alleging that the party had taken the country backwards economically.

Hours later, the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, accused the former Vice President of being linked to past corruption and financial controversies, citing the Mambilla power project, Siemens bribery case and other matters.

The exchange marked a fresh escalation in the growing political contest between the ruling party and the ADC presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking in Akure, where hundreds of ADC supporters trooped out to welcome him, Atiku said, “This is not a campaign rally; this is a welcome rally. We are going to come back for a campaign rally; we will let you know what ADC is going to do for you, for your future and next generations of Nigerians.

“Of course, we have started releasing teasers; we are committed to returning subsidy. Secondly, we are committed to returning security to all over this country. No part of this country will feel insecure anymore.

‎”You know what we did between 1999 and 2007; we took Nigeria to the best economy in Africa; today we are number five. The APC is responsible for taking us down. So the best thing for us is to vote them out.

“There is this popular saying now, which is that APC Must Go! Tinubu must go! You know we had a good example in the last governorship election in Osun State. What did we see there? We saw massive turnout of voters. We also saw massive protection of our votes.

‎”Therefore, the APC couldn’t do anything. This is what we must make sure happens in this state, in Ondo State. We will come back and tell you what the ADC government is going to do for you as Nigerians and as people of Ondo State in particular.

“So, we thank you very much indeed for this reception. It’s not a campaign rally. It’s a welcome rally to receive our brother, our friend, and his associates from PDP into ADC. We are extremely delighted. We are extremely happy to have him back.”

‎‎In his brief remarks, the National Chairman of the ADC, David Mark, who was represented by the National Secretary of the party, Rauf Aregbesola, urged the people to support the candidates of the ADC in the forthcoming general election.

‎Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun State, said, “I want to appeal to you to vote APC out and protect your votes in the coming general election. I also want to urge you to go and campaign, from now on till January and February.”

‎‎A chieftain of the party and former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaja Aminu Tambuwal, who spoke in Hausa to the Hausa members of the party, urged them to work for the victory of the party in next year’s polls.

‎Speaking earlier, Eyitayo Jegede expressed assurance of the party winning the state in the presidential, state and National Assembly elections.

“There is unemployment in Nigeria; you can all see that there is hardship, you can all see that the suffering is too much. The journey has begun.

“We want a democratic government; we are sure of winning for Senate, House of Representatives and the Presidential elections. We are going to mobilise and unite to win come 2027,” he said.

Reacting to Atiku, the APC said his alleged involvement in past corruption and financial scandals made him unfit to occupy the office of President in the 2027 election.

Morka, in a statement on Thursday, cited controversies surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, the Siemens bribery scandal, the William Jefferson case and the United States Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions allegedly linked to Atiku and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas.

Morka declared that the controversies, which he said were documented in official records, court proceedings and legislative reports, raised serious questions about Atiku’s commitment to probity and accountability, urging Nigerians to reject his presidential ambition in 2027.

APC stated, “The media and public discourse have been awash with damning reports of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s alleged dealings in local and international bribery and corruption schemes.

“Ghosts of his sordid past continue, restlessly, to haunt and warn that Atiku must never again be allowed anywhere close to such a commanding position of trust and responsibility as the presidency.

“As a former public official, Atiku’s record is an executive summary of some of Nigeria’s vilest episodes of corruption and cronyism that pulverised our economy and decimated public trust.

“Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election presents the electorate the opportunity to deal a final blow to Atiku’s desperate quest for presidential power and save the country from his ravenous plunder.

“From the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Siemens bribery scandal to the William Jefferson case, the PTDF funds controversy, and the US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions, Atiku’s name is engraved ingloriously on files and dossiers of onshore and offshore financial scandals and atrocities.”

Morka said the issues raised against Atiku were not mere allegations, but matters documented in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations and legislative reports in Nigeria and abroad.

He added that the records, as well as international financial inquiries, had raised questions about Atiku’s commitment to probity and accountability as a repeated presidential contender.

The party stated, “The latest controversy surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project is particularly troubling. An International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Tribunal in Paris examined a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s wife at the time, through an offshore company.

“Reportedly, the payment occurred around the period when the Mambilla contract was awarded with Atiku as Vice President. Atiku declined an opportunity to explain and justify what clearly was an illegal bribe payment to his wife.

“There was the Siemens bribery scandal in which US authorities alleged that Siemens paid at least $4.5 million in bribes to secure Nigerian telecommunications contracts during the Obasanjo administration, with approximately $2.8 million reportedly passing through a bank account owned by Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s ex-wife.

“Siemens subsequently agreed to pay approximately $1.6 billion in penalties to US and German authorities over global bribery violations. Again, Atiku’s Vice Presidential soiled fingerprints came into focus.

“And there was the William Jefferson bribery case, with Atiku and his close associates falling under the scrutiny of American investigators.

“US court records indicated that former Congressman William Jefferson disclosed paying Atiku $100,000 to influence a proposed business partnership involving iGate and Netlink Digital Television. Jefferson was eventually convicted and sentenced to prison. Again, Atiku’s dark web of corrupt influence peddling and abuse of office is on display.”

The APC Publicity Secretary also cited a 2010 report by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which linked Atiku and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, to more than $40m in suspicious funds transferred to the United States through offshore companies and deposited into over 30 bank accounts associated with Douglas and her family.

He argued that the report further raised concerns about Atiku’s suitability to manage the nation’s finances.

The statement read, “Atiku’s sudden U-turn from his 2023 policy position in favour of fuel subsidy removal to his new promise to restore the fuel subsidy regime, if elected, must be understood as his latest device to lay his hands on, and squander, the country’s 18-year foreign reserve high of over $54 billion built up from $3 billion by President Bola Tinubu in less than four years through bold and prudent economic reforms.

“The national treasury that President Tinubu has built strong is what Atiku desires to scatter and plunder under the cover of his fake and unrealistic promise to restore the ruinous fuel subsidy regime.

“In his book, My Watch, President Olusegun Obasanjo characterised Atiku as possessing a propensity for corruption, a tendency toward disloyalty, poor judgment, and a readiness to sacrifice the national interest for selfish gains.

“In August 2026, Obasanjo described his decision to select Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest mistake of his presidency.

“He stated, ‘The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.’ That is an open-and-shut reference by the former President, Atiku’s principal, to his unfitness for public office.

“Atiku was an accidental Vice President, and categorically unfit for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Source: punchng.com

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