The Anambra State Government has demanded an explanation from former governor Peter Obi over the whereabouts of ₦2.13 billion he allegedly claimed to have left as an ecological fund, while also questioning his decision to keep public money in banks and earn interest amid the state’s development challenges.
The Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, raised the questions in a statement titled “Peter Obi’s Debts and Lies: More Questions Than Answers,” issued on Saturday following Obi’s recent appearance on Arise TV.
Mefor said the ecological fund was particularly important because Obi had previously provided what he described as specific details of the account where the money was allegedly kept when he handed over power on March 17, 2014.
But according to the commissioner, a statement obtained from First Bank showed that the account number cited by Obi, 2018779464, was not an ecological fund account.
Mefor said the account was actually the Anambra State Government IGR Consolidated Account.
He further claimed that the bank confirmed that the account balance on March 17, 2014, was nowhere near ₦2 billion and that the account never recorded an inflow or balance of ₦2.13 billion throughout its active period between 2011 and 2018.
“If the money is not in the First Bank account as claimed, where is it? Or is the money actually missing?” the commissioner asked.
‘Where is the money?’
The commissioner said the state government was particularly interested in establishing the whereabouts of the funds because Obi had publicly stated that he left more than ₦2.13 billion for ecological intervention.
According to Mefor, the former governor’s failure to address the issue during his latest television interview had raised further questions.
The government therefore challenged Obi to explain where the money was kept and provide documentation establishing its location and status as of the date he handed over power.
Government questions bank savings
Mefor also took aim at Obi’s repeated reference to the savings and investments he accumulated while in office.
The former governor has argued that he left about $150 million in savings and investments, which, according to him, could have generated interest and provided resources for his successor to meet the state’s obligations.
But the commissioner questioned the wisdom of keeping large amounts of public funds in banks to generate interest while citizens faced significant infrastructure and social challenges.
He said Obi’s argument appeared to reduce development to the size of government bank balances and the interest earned on them.
Mefor particularly questioned the use of public funds in commercial banks in circumstances where the former governor allegedly had interests in one of the institutions.
He argued that government revenue should be deployed strategically to improve infrastructure, healthcare, education, security, water supply and other areas that directly affect citizens.
‘Government is not a profit-and-loss account’
The commissioner said the government’s responsibility was not simply to accumulate money but to deploy public resources to improve citizens’ welfare.
He cited what he described as widespread infrastructure deficits, erosion, poor access to healthcare and education and insecurity during the period under review.
Mefor also criticised Obi’s argument that his successor, former governor Willie Obiano, should have left the money untouched so that it could continue generating bank interest.
He argued that public funds could produce greater social and economic returns when invested in infrastructure and human capital rather than being left primarily for financial returns.
The commissioner said the government was not disputing that Obi accumulated savings, but insisted that the central questions remained how the money was accounted for, where the funds were kept and what liabilities existed when he left office.
Obi yet to answer ecological fund allegation
The state government said it was prepared to provide further documentation concerning the account and other financial records it had cited.
Mefor said the controversy was triggered by Obi’s own challenge to the government to prove that he left debts or salary and pension arrears.
Obi has rejected the government’s allegations and maintained that he left Anambra financially stronger, with substantial savings and investments.
The dispute over his financial legacy in Anambra has now expanded to questions about loans, inherited liabilities, workers’ arrears, government savings and the alleged ₦2.13 billion ecological fund.