The Presidency has intensified its criticism of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, accusing him of avoiding questions over the debt profile his administration left behind in Anambra State.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said on Thursday, September 17, 2026, that the Anambra State Government had responded to Obi’s challenge to verify his record with what it described as documentary evidence.

Onanuga, in a post on X, said Obi and his supporters had yet to directly address the claims contained in the state government’s response.

“Peter Obi challenged the Anambra State Government to verify his record on the debt he left behind. Now that the government has responded, the former presidential candidate and his supporters are struggling for an answer and cannot address the evidence directly,” he wrote.

The presidential spokesman also questioned what he described as the often overstated record of Obi’s eight-year tenure as Anambra governor.

According to Onanuga, Obi left Awka, the state capital, largely underdeveloped despite his time in office.

He also faulted the administration for its handling of erosion, which he described as one of the state’s major environmental challenges, as well as insecurity, which he said discouraged some indigenes from returning to the state.

Onanuga added that the administration of Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, subsequently made progress in addressing the security situation.

The presidential aide also contrasted Obi’s record in Anambra with Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State, pointing to major infrastructure and economic development initiatives associated with the former Lagos governor.

He cited the reclamation project that enabled the development of Eko Atlantic City and the vision for the Lekki Free Trade Zone as examples of projects he said laid the foundation for subsequent developments, including the Lekki Deep Seaport.

“Obi’s record also raises questions about the scale of his transformational ambition. By contrast, Bola Tinubu’s administration in Lagos initiated and supported major projects—including the reclamation that enabled the development of Eko Atlantic and the vision for the Lekki Free Trade Zone—that helped lay the groundwork for a new city and a deep seaport,” Onanuga said.