Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has denied leaving the state with outstanding debt at the end of his tenure, saying he left more than $150 million in investments that could have covered the $123.77 million debt allegedly attributed to his administration.

Obi made the statement on Thursday during an interview on Arise News, while responding to claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind loans and other liabilities amounting to $123.77 million.

The state government, through its Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, had said the loans were obtained to fund projects and programmes in areas including malaria control, education, healthcare, erosion management, community development and value-chain development.

But Obi rejected the characterization of the funds as loans, insisting that he did not obtain the money from commercial banks.

“I told you these are not loans. I didn’t go to the bank,” he said.

The former governor said that when he left office in 2014, the dollar component of Anambra State’s savings invested in various bonds was worth more than $150 million and generated about $10 million annually.

“As at the time I left office, the dollar components of my savings invested in various bonds were over $150 million, which gives Anambra State guaranteed income of about $10 million yearly,” Obi said.

He argued that even if the alleged $123.7 million debt were accepted, the investments he left behind would have been sufficient to settle the obligation without exhausting the state’s capital.

“Let me assume the worst-case scenario — which is false — that there was $123.7 million owed as of the time I left. I left over $150 million that was earning about $10 million,” he said.

According to him, retaining the investments and using the income generated from them to service the alleged debt would have enabled the state to settle the obligation while preserving the principal.

“If they just kept the money that I left and were using the income to pay the loan, they would have finished paying it now, with the capital of $150 million still remaining, and still giving Anambra State $10 million annually,” he added.

Obi also disputed the description of the funds as conventional borrowing, explaining that the financial support was concessionary assistance facilitated through the Federal Government and the World Bank.

He said Anambra, Ekiti and Bauchi were selected to benefit from the intervention because of their performance in education.

“They (Federal Government) selected Anambra, Ekiti and Bauchi because these three states were doing well in education and said: why don’t we give them concessionary multilateral support to help them do better?” Obi said.

He maintained that the arrangement was a collaborative initiative involving the Federal Government and the World Bank to provide concessionary multilateral support to the selected states.

Obi consequently insisted that he did not leave Anambra State in debt, arguing that the more than $150 million in investments he said he left behind was sufficient to cover the $123.77 million liability being attributed to his administration.