The document, dated March 17, 2014, presents a summary of the financial position of Anambra State at the end of Obi’s tenure. According to the figures contained in the document, the state had a gross balance of about ₦91.67 billion, while estimated liabilities, including salaries, pensions, gratuities and certified project obligations, were put at about ₦5 billion. This resulted in a reported net balance of approximately ₦86.67 billion.
The release of the document comes amid a fresh dispute between Obi and the current Anambra State Government over the state’s debt profile.
The Anambra State Government has maintained that loans obtained during previous administrations remain under repayment. On September 16, 2026, the government released records which it said showed eight external borrowings associated with Obi’s administration, with the outstanding balance of those loans estimated at about ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the exchange rate used in the government’s statement.
Obi has rejected the characterization that he left Anambra with unpaid obligations, maintaining that his administration settled outstanding salaries, pensions and other verified liabilities before handing over power.
The central issue in the dispute is therefore not simply the amount of money reported in the 2014 handover document, but also how loans, investments, project obligations and liabilities are classified and attributed to different administrations.
The figures in Obi’s handover document and the debt records subsequently cited by the Anambra Government represent competing positions in an ongoing public debate. Independent examination of the underlying financial records would be required to reconcile the two claims and establish precisely which obligations existed at the point of handover.
The controversy has renewed attention on the financial records left behind by successive administrations in Anambra and the importance of publicly available documentation in assessing claims about the state’s finances.