Former Anambra State governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi has again defended his claim that he left office in 2014 with about $150 million and N36 billion in state savings, saying the funds were legitimately invested through three commercial banks and could be independently verified. Obi said the money belonged entirely to Anambra State and rejected allegations that he personally benefited from the investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking in an interview with Nigerian media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo published Wednesday, Obi said critics were free to question the figures but insisted that government records and banking documents supported his account. He explained that the funds were placed in financial instruments, including bonds, at publicly known rates and did not result in any loss to the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Obi, Anambra had $50 million and N12 billion invested each in Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank and Access Bank when he handed over power in 2014. He dismissed claims that the choice of banks raised concerns because of alleged personal relationships, saying the investments followed official procedures and that anyone could examine the records to determine whether the state was disadvantaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo to those banks. Let me start with the dollar. There are bonds; the rates are as issued. Everybody knows the rates. Go to them and see if there\u2019s anyone who has been shortchanged,\u201d Obi said. He also challenged critics to identify another Nigerian state where a governor left office with similar savings, arguing that his administration\u2019s financial approach demonstrated responsible management of public funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obi has consistently presented the savings claim as evidence of his administration\u2019s focus on reducing waste and building financial reserves during his time as governor from 2006 to 2014. Some former banking executives, including Abia State Governor Alex Otti, have previously supported parts of his account, saying some of the funds were invested in financial instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the claims have remained controversial. Obi\u2019s successor, former Anambra Governor Willie Obiano, and other critics have disputed the narrative, arguing that the administration inherited outstanding financial obligations, including debts owed to contractors. They have questioned whether the reported savings alone reflected the state\u2019s complete financial position at the time of the transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute over Anambra\u2019s finances has become part of a broader national conversation in Nigeria about transparency, public spending and accountability in government. With many states facing limited revenues, debt pressures and rising economic challenges, debates over how public funds are saved, invested and managed continue to attract public attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obi\u2019s renewed defense of his record comes as he seeks to strengthen his political platform ahead of future elections. His message of fiscal discipline and efficient government spending has remained central to his appeal among supporters, while critics continue to call for greater disclosure and independent review of public financial records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Anambra State governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi has again defended his claim that he left office in 2014 with about $150 million and N36 billion in state savings, saying the funds were legitimately invested through three commercial banks and could be independently verified. Obi said the money belonged entirely to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":34615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,4,5,458,18,3,1138],"tags":[20827,20822,2605,20823,20829,20826,20824],"class_list":["post-34611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-featured","category-international","category-legal","category-lifestyle","category-naija-news","category-politics","tag-anambra-finance-controversy","tag-anambra-state-finances","tag-peter-obi","tag-peter-obi-anambra-savings-claim","tag-peter-obi-financial-record","tag-peter-obi-interview-with-chude-jideonwo","tag-peter-obi-latest-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot_9-7-2026_131856_www.bing_.com_.jpeg?fit=706%2C441&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34613,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34611\/revisions\/34613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}