The Anambra State Government has released a document showing the approval of N363.381 million as the second tranche of salary arrears owed to workers, pensioners and next of kin of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency.
The document was released on Friday amid an ongoing dispute between the state government and former Governor Peter Obi over whether his administration left unpaid workers’ entitlements when he left office in 2014.
Dated May 24, 2025, the document was signed by the then Head of Service, Dame Theodora Okwy Igwegbe, and addressed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
The development was highlighted by the Anambra State New Media Office in a post on X on Friday.
The post was captioned, “PART 3: EVIDENCE THAT LYING IS IN PETER OBI’S DNA.”
It stated, “The Soludo administration paid the first tranche of State workers’ entitlements—entitlements Peter Obi left unpaid during his eight years as governor. Gov Soludo has now, also, paid the second. Peter Obi knows we know he’s lying.”
According to the document, the approval sought was for the release of N363,381,000 to settle the second tranche of salary arrears under an out-of-court settlement between the state government and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees.
The document said the payment formed part of the terms of settlement reached on February 6, 2024, concerning arrears owed to workers, pensioners and next of kin of the defunct Water Corporation and ANSEPA.
It stated that the second tranche was due for disbursement in 2026.
The Head of Service wrote, “That the agreed second tranche payment of Three Hundred and Sixty-Three Million, Three Hundred and Eighty-One Thousand Naira only (N363,381,000.00) is due for disbursement in line with the Terms of Settlement signed on 6th February 2024.”
She added that the payment would be processed through the State Government Payroll System via a dedicated account.
The document further stated that the payment would “further reinforce your administration’s commitment to social justice, workers’ welfare, and adherence to agreements reached with organised labour”.
The disclosure comes days after Obi maintained that he left office without owing salaries, gratuities or pensions.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time, Obi said, “On the day I left office, the government of Anambra State, which I headed, was not owing any salary, gratuity, or pension to those scheduled to be paid by the state government.”
He added, “We were not owing any contractor or supplier who executed his job, certified and verified—not one.”
Obi also rejected claims that he borrowed money or issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his eight years in office.
“Let me categorically state again: I, Mr Peter Obi, did not approach any financial institution to borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra State in the eight years I was in government,” he said.
Explaining the funding arrangements associated with his administration, Obi said some facilities attributed to his tenure were concessionary multilateral support arranged through the Federal Government.
“There’s a difference between I went to the bank to borrow money, then the Federal Government sees, ‘Oh, this state is doing well in education.’ They selected Anambra, Ekiti, and Bauchi and said, ‘These three states are doing well. Why don’t we give them a concessionary multilateral support to help them?’” he said.
Obi also argued that undrawn funds under a facility should not be regarded as debt incurred by his administration.
“Even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money—even if I had gone to a bank and borrowed money, but I did not spend the money, you cannot call it debt I left,” he said.
