The Anambra State Government has released a document showing approval for the payment of N363.381 million in workers’ arrears, adding a new development to the ongoing disagreement between Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration and former Governor Peter Obi over the state’s inherited liabilities.
The document, dated May 24, 2025, was signed by the then Head of Service, Dame Theodora Okwy Igwegbe, and addressed to Governor Soludo.
It sought approval for the release of N363.381 million as the second tranche of salary arrears owed to workers, pensioners and next of kin connected with the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the document, the payment formed part of an out-of-court settlement reached between the state government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees on February 6, 2024.
The Head of Service stated that the second tranche was due for disbursement in 2026 and was to be processed through the state government payroll system using a dedicated account.
The document also stated that the payment would demonstrate the state government’s commitment to workers’ welfare, social justice and compliance with agreements reached with organised labour.
The latest disclosure was highlighted by the Anambra State New Media Office on Friday as part of its response to the continuing public disagreement over whether Obi left behind unpaid obligations when he completed his tenure as governor in 2014.
The state government’s post accompanied the document with strong criticism of Obi, alleging that his administration left some workers’ entitlements unpaid, although those allegations remain disputed by the former governor.
Obi, speaking recently on Arise TV’s Prime Time, maintained that he left office without owing salaries, gratuities or pensions to people scheduled to be paid by the state government.
He also said his administration did not owe contractors or suppliers whose completed work had been properly executed, certified and verified before his departure from office.
The former governor further rejected claims that he borrowed money or issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight years in office, explaining that some facilities associated with the period were concessionary multilateral support arrangements involving the Federal Government.
Obi also argued that undrawn funds under a facility should not be treated as debt incurred by his administration, maintaining that the financial position of the state when he left office should be assessed based on actual obligations rather than unused facilities.
The disagreement forms part of a wider debate between Obi and the Soludo administration over the financial liabilities inherited by the current government.
The Anambra State Government has previously maintained that it inherited outstanding salary, pension and gratuity obligations from previous administrations and has said the Soludo administration has cleared about N22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears.
The state has also said that salary arrears involving workers of the defunct Water Corporation were eventually addressed under the Soludo administration through instalment payments.
The newly released document specifically confirms the existence of a 2024 out-of-court settlement and the approval process for the N363.381 million second tranche.
However, the document alone does not establish precisely when all the underlying arrears accrued or conclusively determine which administration was responsible for creating the obligations.
The latest development therefore adds documentary evidence to an already contested account of Anambra’s finances, while both sides continue to present different explanations of the state’s financial position at the end of Obi’s tenure.
The dispute is unfolding as political attention in Anambra and nationally increasingly focuses on the records and claims of political actors ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle.
For now, the released document establishes that the state approved a N363.381 million second tranche under a settlement concerning workers, pensioners and next of kin of the defunct agencies, while Obi continues to maintain that his administration did not leave unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities.