The controversy over the state of account when Governor Peter Obi left office in 2014 has continued to rage, with no indication that it is about to go anytime soon. The former governor and presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) was the first to fire a salvo, boasting that he left no debt for succeeding governments, and challenging anyone with evidence to the contrary to adduce. When the state Commissioner for Finance took up the gauntlet in an interview,debunking the claims, supporters of the presidential candidate launched at the state governor, Professor Charles Soludo, with many claiming that the Anambra State helmsman was on a witch-hunt mission. This has raised an issue that should not be swept under the carpet as it touches on the integrity of public officers, especially one who aspires to run the affairs of the country.
The facts that have come up show that the state government has been vindicated. As pointed out by Dr. Law Mellor, the Commissioner for Information, the matter had not been raised in the past four years that Soludo has been in charge; not even when the governorship race was hot and Obi was on the side of the People’s Democratic Party’s candidate. Considering the challenge thrown by Mr. Obi as an affront and an assault on morality, the state government released documents showing that the Obi administration signed eight loan agreements with the World Bank totalling about $124 million. In response, the former governor admitted that he did sign the agreement, but did not draw down on it. Records indicate that he did draw from it, but not fully.
The question to ask is why did he deny it. Why did he claim he left only credit and no debit? It is obvious that all governments leave both credits and debits. There would always be ongoing considerations. It is no point to argue that you did not go to the office of a commercial bank or a multilateral financial agency. The fact that you signed somehow, and went ahead to draw from the fund is an admission that you had unserviced loans.
It is also an issue that the N2.13 billion that Mr. Obi claimed to have deposited in the bank is nowhere to be found in the said account. Since he was challenged to prove that any such amount was ever deposited, the former governor has been unusually silent. Figures from the Debt Management Office have since confirmed that he left debts running into billions of Naira still being serviced by the current administration.
The defence that he left N75 billion in the state coffers does not hold water. Neither does the claim that what he left was enough to cover the loans obtained. This is different from the earlier claims that he never took any loan.
He had also claimed that he did not owe public servants. Again, this has been debunked as about 700 staff of the Water Corporation and thousands of retirees were being owed as of the day he bowed out of office.
It is attitudes like this that have whittled down public confidence in governments and institutions in Nigeria. Mr. Obi keeps presenting an outward show of Mr. Probity, while there are other matters that contradict such posture. This is a reason why Nigerians should watch out for the public and private lives of those seeking their votes. They are to be assessed by not only what they say, but what they left unsaid.
On so many occasions, as Dr. Meffor pointed out , the NDC presidential candidate has fallen short of expectations by his public posturing. He claimed he never met the late General Sani Abacha when confronted with allegation that the former military Head of State was the source of his stupendous wealth, but another video was later produced where he allegedly confirmed having met the General in the company of others. Some have queried why he kept saying Nigeria should move from consumption to production, while his businesses only promote consumption.
Why did he invest state government money in a brewery in which he is said to have interest? He has not denied this. With cheerful bravado, he insisted without evidence that it profited Anambra State. That has been proven to be false. Even if it were true, what of the larger questions of conflict of interest and abuse of privilege? Accounts of Anambra State were also mainly housed in a bank in which his family has huge interest, in fact one that he had been its chairman.
These are legitimate questions as he bids for the highest office of the land. Even the searchlight into his political voyage cannot be easily dismissed. While political mentor, Chief Chukwuemeka Odunegwu-Ojukwu, was alive, he pledged never to leave the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), but as soon as the demise of the former Biafra leader and founder of the party was announced, he jumped ship into the ruling party at the federal level, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Before the 2023 general elections, he pitched tent with the Labour Party, and has, only this year, shifted his attention to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and now the NDC. The Anambra State government is contending that such a leader who abandons his abode as soon as there is a whiff of crisis cannot be trusted with the ship of state.
It is true that Nigeria has not found its bearing politically, there is no stable and identifiable political culture. The political parties lack ideology, but it is the more reason why those seeking to occupy high offices of state should be seen to be leading the way out of the morass, rather than entrenching the country in the woods. The least that should be asked of leaders is where they stood at critical junction of our national life, how they performed in their last station, what they actually stand for and the veracity of their claims.
In this Obi-Soludo class, the NDC candidate has fallen short of expectations and is not deserving of the moral toga he has wrapped around himself.