The Village Boys Movement (VBM) has challenged the recent claims by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council and its spokesman, Dele Alake, over the financial record of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, insisting that the figures being used to portray the former governor as having left a heavily indebted state require further documentary reconciliation.
The group’s position was contained in a statement dated September 21, 2026, signed by its National Headmaster, Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke, titled “Dele Alake and the APC Must Stop Peddling Cooked Figures: Peter Obi Did Not Leave Anambra a Debt-Ridden State.”
The statement followed a fresh political dispute over Obi’s eight-year administration in Anambra after the state government released figures claiming that his administration contracted external facilities with an aggregate value of $123.77 million and that about $92.35 million remained outstanding as of June 30, 2026. The APC Presidential Campaign Council subsequently relied on the figures in challenging Obi’s account of the state’s finances.
VBM, however, argued that the $123.77 million figure should not automatically be treated as the debt stock outstanding when Obi handed over power on March 17, 2014.
According to the group, the Debt Management Office (DMO) recorded Anambra’s external debt at approximately $30.32 million as of December 31, 2013, alongside domestic debt of about ₦3.03 billion. The group said this figure, being the DMO’s debt-stock position shortly before the handover, should be reconciled with the separate figure representing the aggregate value of development-financing facilities.
The controversy centres on whether the $123.77 million represents money actually disbursed and outstanding at the time Obi left office or the original commitments of several development facilities associated with projects implemented during his tenure.
An independent review of the figures has similarly noted that the original value of the facilities, the amount actually disbursed and the amount outstanding at a particular date are different accounting concepts. It also noted that Anambra’s external debt was recorded by the DMO at $41.46 million in June 2014, compared with $30.32 million at the end of 2013, making the underlying transaction dates and drawdowns important to determining the precise liability at the March 2014 handover.
VBM therefore demanded that the authorities publish the individual agreements covering the eight facilities, their approval and signing dates, amounts actually disbursed, outstanding balances as of March 17, 2014, repayment schedules and amounts drawn or repaid by succeeding administrations.
The group also questioned the methodology behind the Anambra Government’s claim that Obi’s administration spent about $4.05 billion, which the state subsequently described as equivalent to approximately ₦5.4 trillion at the current exchange rate.
The Anambra Government has explained that the $4.05 billion figure was derived by converting audited and published expenditure using the average official exchange rates applicable during Obi’s eight-year tenure.
VBM argued that historical expenditure should primarily be examined through the original naira appropriations, audited accounts and financial statements rather than converting historical expenditure into dollars and subsequently presenting its current-naira equivalent.
The group further maintained that any assessment of the financial position inherited by Willie Obiano’s administration should examine both assets and liabilities, rather than focusing exclusively on debt.
VBM cited Obi’s March 2014 end-of-tenure presentation, in which he reportedly stated that his administration was leaving about ₦75 billion in savings, investments and other balances, including approximately $155 million in foreign-currency investments. Contemporary reporting has documented those claims, although the classification and valuation of some of the assets have subsequently been disputed.
The organisation also rejected attempts to use a 2006 Water Corporation memo concerning salary and pension arrears as conclusive evidence of Obi’s financial record across his entire eight-year tenure.
It called for the publication of complete payroll records, arrears schedules, payment records, audit reports and settlement records if the allegation is that the corporation remained owed throughout the administration.
On the broader performance debate, VBM said claims that Obi left “nothing to show” should also be tested against the documentary record of projects, investments, pension obligations and infrastructure attributed to his administration. The group stressed that such claims should be independently verified rather than settled through political assertions.
The APC’s position, meanwhile, is that the Anambra Government’s disclosures contradict the portrayal of Obi’s tenure as one without a debt burden. Alake said the state had identified eight external borrowings associated with projects including malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare, with subsequent administrations continuing to service the obligations.
The state government has also said the outstanding balance of the facilities stood at approximately ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the official exchange rate used in its calculation.
VBM, however, said the figures should be subjected to a facility-by-facility reconciliation before conclusions are drawn about the financial condition handed over in March 2014.
The group specifically called for the publication of the DMO debt-stock series for Anambra between 2006 and 2014, the original agreements for the eight facilities, actual disbursement records, balances outstanding at handover, repayment records, audited annual expenditure and the documentary basis for the $4.05 billion expenditure calculation.
It said the objective should be to establish, from verifiable records, what Anambra owned, what it owed, how much had actually been drawn from each facility, what had been repaid and what remained outstanding on March 17, 2014.
The statement concluded by urging Alake, the APC and the Anambra State Government to publish the underlying documents and allow Nigerians to independently examine the evidence.
“Scrutiny must be based on complete records, consistent accounting standards and verifiable evidence,” the Village Boys Movement said.
Signed:
Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke
National Headmaster, Village Boys Movement (VBM)
