Anambra Debts Row: Ex-SSG, Oseloka Obaze, Backs Obi’s Handover Note

As the debt debate in Anambra State rages, a former secretary to the state government (SSG), Mr Oseloka Obaze, has defended the official handover note by former Governor Peter Obi to his then successor, Willie Obiano, after he left office in 2014.

Obaze, who noted that he was a witness to the handover process, said he was present when Obiano received and signed an acknowledgement for his own copy of the letter, complete with the annexed certified bank statements, related documents and the handover report.

The former SSG said the letter listed assets and liabilities – in black and red.

Obaze, who served as SSG under Obi and also briefly under the Obiano administration, gave his position on the debate in a post on his verified X handle yesterday.

Recall that the incumbent governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, recently claimed that the Obi government left huge debts, challenging Obi’s claim that his administration did not leave debt as of March 17, 2014, when he handed over to his successor, Obiano.

The Soludo government said that as of mid-June 2026, the state debts his administration inherited from both Obi and his immediate predecessor, Chief Willie Obiano’s administrations, stood at about N127.37 billion.

But Obi on Thursday released his handover note to Obiano on March 17, 2014, in response to Soludo’s claims, detailing some of what was contained in his handover note, including assets and balances as follows: local investments (₦27 billion), foreign currency investments (₦26.5 billion), state/MDA balances (₦28.17 billion), and an approved federal refund (₦10 billion).

The net balance, according to Obi in the handover note, is approximately ₦86.66 billion after accounting for liabilities.

Backing Obi’s claim, Obaze said that he was a witness when Obi handed the handover note to Obiano, and that the latter signed receipt of the handover note in his presence.

Oseloka’s reaction on his X handle read: “As the incumbent SSG of Anambra under @PeterObi at the time he left office on 17 March, 2014, I had the honour of personally being present when Peter Obi signed the attached handover letter.

“I was also present when Gov. Willie Obiano received and signed an acknowledgement for his own copy of the letter, complete with the annexed certified bank statements, related documents and the Handover Report. The letter listed assets and liabilities – in black and red.

“During the nationally televised Anambra 2017 governorship debate on Sunday 12 November, 2017, organised by Channels Television, Gov. Willie Obiano asserted surprisingly that there were no funds left by the Obi Administration.

“I recall asking him on national television how, as a certified accountant and auditor, he would sign off and accept financial documents for which he now was expressing reservations.

“He then publicly acknowledged for the first time that some specified funds were in place and asked what was the use of saving money when there was work to be done.

“As Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba would later confirm to members of the Nigerian press corps, Gov. Obiano had disclosed to him that his predecessor (Gov. Obi) had indeed left huge sums, which enabled him to independently build the Anambra Airport at Umueri.

“If Gov. Obiano, to whom Peter Obi handed over in 2014, would eventually acknowledge – implicitly and explicitly – that Gov. Peter Obi indeed left the stipulated funds; a fact that was also publicly corroborated by Gov. Alex Otti, in his capacity as an ex-banker, what then, one may ask, is the beef and grouse of the incumbent Anambra State Government?” the former Anambra SSG said.