Abia State Governor Alex Otti has weighed into the growing dispute between former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and Governor Charles Soludo over the state's historical debts and financial obligations.
Otti's intervention follows renewed claims by the Anambra State Government that Obi left behind outstanding loans and other liabilities when he handed over power in 2014.
Obi has rejected the allegations, insisting that his administration cleared outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities and certified payments to contractors before leaving office.
The former governor has also challenged the Soludo administration to provide evidence of any debt he personally left behind.
Otti, who was the Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank during Obi's administration, has previously spoken publicly about financial transactions involving the former Anambra governor.
His latest position has added another prominent voice to the controversy as both sides continue to present competing accounts of Anambra's financial position at the time of the 2014 transition.
The Abia governor has challenged the Anambra administration to make the relevant records public so that Nigerians can examine the figures and determine what liabilities were actually inherited.
The demand comes after the Anambra Government released records which it said showed outstanding external obligations linked to previous administrations.
The Anambra State Government has maintained that Obi's administration incurred several external borrowing obligations.
According to the state's Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, the outstanding balance of external loans associated with Obi and previous administrations stood at about ₦127.37 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the government's presentation of the records.
The government identified several development programmes connected with external financing, including projects involving health, education, agriculture, erosion control and community development.
The administration argues that such obligations remain part of the state's financial responsibilities even where the projects were designed as development programmes.
However, supporters of Obi's position have disputed the way some of these facilities are being characterised, arguing that several were concessionary, multilateral development credits rather than conventional commercial borrowing.
Obi has strongly disputed the allegations.
In response to the Anambra Government's claims, he said he left office without owing salaries, pensions or gratuities that were due for payment.
He also said he did not owe contractors who had completed and properly processed work under his administration.
In a subsequent response, Obi reiterated that he left substantial funds and investments behind for his successor. He challenged the state government to produce evidence contradicting his account.
The former governor has gone further by releasing documents relating to the handover of government affairs in March 2014.
His former Secretary to the State Government, Oseloka Obaze, has also said he witnessed the handover process and that financial documents were presented to incoming governor Willie Obiano.
A central part of the debate concerns investments allegedly made by the Obi administration before it left office.
Otti has previously said that, while serving as Diamond Bank's managing director, he was involved in transactions through which approximately $155 million belonging to Anambra State was invested.
Recent reports have again cited Otti's account as evidence supporting Obi's claim that he left financial assets for his successor.
The issue has therefore become a dispute not only over liabilities but also over how assets, investments and development financing should be accounted for when assessing the financial position inherited by successive administrations.
The controversy matters because public debt figures can be interpreted differently depending on whether they refer to the original amount borrowed, outstanding balances, exchange-rate valuations or liabilities that remained attached to development projects.
It also raises a broader question about transparency in state finances: What exactly was inherited, when was each obligation incurred, how much had been drawn down, and which administration was responsible for repayment?
Those questions are particularly relevant to Anambra residents, who are ultimately affected by the state's debt-servicing obligations and fiscal decisions.
For Nigerian voters, the dispute also has a national political dimension. Obi is seeking the presidency in 2027, while Soludo remains a major political figure in Anambra.
The latest exchanges have increased calls for both sides to make their documentary evidence available.
Obi has pointed to his handover records and financial claims, while the Soludo administration has relied on current debt records and government documentation to support its position.
The former SSG, Obaze, has said the handover documents contained information about investments, government balances and liabilities transferred to the incoming administration.
The disagreement is therefore increasingly becoming a contest over records rather than simply political statements.
The Peter Obi-Anambra debt controversy has entered another phase following Governor Alex Otti's intervention.
While the Soludo administration maintains that outstanding obligations were inherited from previous governments, Obi disputes the characterisation and has called for specific evidence.
Otti's challenge for the records to be made public could intensify calls for a detailed, document-based account of Anambra's finances at the 2014 handover. Ultimately, the publication and independent examination of the relevant records would provide the clearest basis for understanding the competing claims.