Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, came under heavy criticism on Wednesday following the release of alleged debt records left by Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), during his tenure as governor of the state.
The Anambra State Government on Wednesday published what it termed the public debt records left behind by Obi’s administration.
According to the statement, Obi’s administration left outstanding loans as well as arrears of salaries, pensions, and gratuities inherited by subsequent administrations, amounting to ₦127 billion.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr. Law Mefor, the state government stated that Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration had cleared about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears owed to retired state and local government employees, as well as teachers.
The government shared a breakdown of the alleged unpaid debts on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, @AnambraNewMedia.
However, several X users took to the comment section to criticize Governor Soludo, accusing him of playing petty politics against his predecessor.
Below are some of the reactions monitored online:
@Justice4U8:
“If @PeterObi sends these people to jail now, they will start crying. Now you’re publicly going crazy because Governor Soludo wants to be a minister after his tenure as governor. I hope you can defend all this rubbish you rushed to publish.”
@cisero81:
“Soludo, you are a professor, for goodness’ sake. Could you concentrate on governance and stop this bitterness? Was Anambra’s money missing or stolen under Obi? What exactly is the source of your bitterness?”
@Whiteswizzy: “Soludo is an educated illiterate. He’s fighting Obi because of Tinubu. He has no evidence for his claim.”
@Danhenchi:
“Are you guys really this stupid, or is this a movie script? Why don’t you tell us the exchange rate at the time Peter Obi was governor? Did Peter Obi spend this money recently? Envy can really make people try to defend the indefensible, no matter how it makes them look.”
@Karlomege:
“Bunch of liars. Initially, you said it was $123.77 billion. Now you are changing it to million dollars. Inconsistency is how criminals are caught. After a few hours, you will still come back to say it’s $123 thousand.”*
@ Movingwinds19: “Obi will stop his campaign and step down. He has been caught.”
@KellyValentyne: Soludo left the ‘Dubai-Taiwan’ Anambra he promised the people to meddle in propaganda and blackmail. It is a shame that I once believed he would deliver. This truly shows that education is not wisdom and leadership has nothing to do with your educational qualifications.”*
