‘I Was Misled’ — Kenneth Okonkwo Changes Position on Peter Obi’s Anambra Debt Record

Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said he was misled when he previously defended former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi against claims that his administration left behind debts and other financial obligations.

Okonkwo, who served as Obi’s spokesman during the 2023 presidential campaign, made the disclosure while appearing on Television Continental’s Sunday Politics programme on Sunday.

He said fresh information released by the Anambra State Government had made it impossible for him to continue repeating some of the claims he made in Obi’s defence during the 2023 election.

“You know me, I’m a very passionate person in whatever I believe in. Let me tell you because I was misled,” Okonkwo said.

He recalled that during the 2023 presidential campaign, he had told Nigerians that Obi left office without outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities.

“There was a time I told Nigerians that Peter Obi was not owing anything, did not leave any debt, he was not owing any salary. No gratuity. No pension. And I said, go and verify.

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“I’m not a man that stands on my own misunderstanding. When I see the facts, I agree,” he said.

Okonkwo said the Anambra State Government had subsequently claimed that Obi’s administration was associated with eight external financing facilities and that workers at the state-owned water corporation were owed salaries and arrears.

“The fact is Anambra State Government said he borrowed eight loans.

“The fact is that Anambra State said that at the water corporation, he was owing workers there, all the salaries, all the arrears. I cannot say the same thing that I said about Peter Obi in 2023,” he said.

The comments come amid an ongoing dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s debt profile and financial obligations linked to projects undertaken during his tenure.

The state government has said eight external financing facilities associated with projects during Obi’s administration had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026.

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Obi has rejected the description of the entire $123.77 million as debt he left behind. He argued that the figures combine different stages of development financing and said Anambra’s external debt stood at about $30 million when he left office in March 2014, citing Debt Management Office figures.

Okonkwo also recalled his previous defence of Obi’s family over allegations concerning the cost of a wristwatch allegedly worn by President Bola Tinubu’s son.

He said his willingness to change his position when presented with new information was also applicable to that issue.

Explaining his new approach to Obi ahead of the 2027 election, Okonkwo said his role had changed from defending the former governor to scrutinising his record.

“That’s why I said in 2023, I campaigned for them as the examination in chief. In 2027, it’s going to be a cross-examination,” he said.

Okonkwo is currently the spokesman for the presidential campaign council of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

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Obi served as governor of Anambra State from March 2006 to March 2014, with his first tenure interrupted by impeachment in November 2006. He returned to office after a court overturned the impeachment and handed over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014.