The Anambra State Government has released a 20 year old memo concerning unpaid salaries at the state Water Corporation as part of its ongoing dispute with former Governor Peter Obi over the financial record of his administration.
The document, dated April 25, 2006, was reportedly written by Obi’s then Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, appealing to the former governor to release funds for workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation who, according to the memo, had not been paid since February.
The state government released the document on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, while challenging Obi over his claims that he left office without outstanding financial liabilities.
According to reports, the memo stated that the Water Corporation had a monthly wage bill of about ₦15 million and appealed for the corporation to be included among government agencies receiving regular subventions.
The state government is using the document to question a reported campaign commitment by Obi during his governorship bid concerning the prompt payment of workers’ salaries.
The development comes amid a wider disagreement over the financial position of Anambra State when Obi left office in March 2014.
Obi has maintained that his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and handed over the state without outstanding salaries, pensions or gratuities. He has also challenged the Anambra State Government to produce evidence contradicting his account.
The Anambra Government has, however, continued to dispute Obi’s position on the state’s financial obligations.
Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr Law Mefor, previously said the government had identified eight external loan facilities linked to Obi’s administration, with the outstanding balance put at approximately ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the figures cited by the state.
The government has also challenged Obi’s claim that more than ₦2.13 billion was left in an account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis, saying its records did not support that claim.
Obi has disputed the government’s broader interpretation of his financial record and has said he would stop campaigning for the 2027 presidential election if it is established that his administration left the state with the liabilities alleged.
The controversy has also attracted comments from political actors, including the APC Presidential Campaign Council, which has urged Obi to honour that reported pledge if the allegations are established.
The latest dispute therefore centres on two separate issues: the existence and treatment of financial obligations during Obi’s tenure, and whether those obligations remained outstanding when he handed over power in 2014.
The 2006 memo, while being cited in the current debate, concerns salary issues at the Water Corporation during the early months of Obi’s administration and does not by itself establish the total financial position of the state at the end of his tenure.
The wider claims remain contested, with the Anambra Government and Obi maintaining differing accounts of the state’s finances.
By Enitan Mudashiru | MUK TV News
