By Tambaya Julius, Abuja

The Presidency has challenged former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to honour his pledge to quit the 2027 presidential race if claims about his administration’s financial record in the state are proven wrong.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued the challenge in a post on X on Wednesday, following a fresh response by the Anambra State Government to Obi’s defence of his record in office.

Onanuga recalled that Obi had claimed he left Anambra without debt and pledged to stop campaigning if anyone could establish otherwise.

“Peter Obi claimed he left Anambra with a clean slate of debt and even threatened to quit the presidential race if his claims were proven otherwise,” Onanuga wrote.

He said the Anambra State Government had now presented figures alleging that liabilities remained after Obi left office, including outstanding obligations to Water Corporation workers, teachers, pensioners and beneficiaries of gratuities.

“Now, the Anambra government has confronted him with facts and figures showing he owed Water Corporation workers, teachers, and pension and gratuities, and had also borrowed for frivolous things,” he said.

“The ball is back in his court. Will he follow through on his threat by quitting the race?” Onanuga asked.

The development followed Obi’s rejection of allegations by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind various financial liabilities, including contractor obligations and unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities.

Obi had maintained that his administration cleared more than ₦35 billion in historical gratuities and arrears and left office without outstanding salary, pension or gratuity obligations.

He also disputed the government’s claim concerning an ecological fund, saying more than ₦2.13 billion was left untouched in a First Bank account for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis.

However, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, disputed the claim in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Mefor said the First Bank account cited by Obi was an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Consolidated Revenue Account and not an ecological fund account.

According to him, the state government obtained a certified printout of the account covering its history from 2011 and found no record of the amount claimed by Obi.

“From 2011 when the account was opened until date, there has never been any such amount whether as inflow or balance in the account,” Mefor said.

The commissioner also disputed Obi’s wider claims about the state’s financial position, saying eight external loans contracted during his administration remained outstanding.

The state government put the outstanding balance of the loans at about ₦127.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, based on the exchange rate used in its calculation.

Mefor further alleged that the Soludo administration had cleared about ₦22 billion in inherited gratuity arrears, while some legacy liabilities involving retired teachers and Water Corporation workers remained.

The government also disputed Obi’s claim that his administration left more than ₦75 billion in savings, asking him to provide records to substantiate the figure.

Obi, however, has continued to defend his record, insisting that his administration settled inherited liabilities and did not leave unpaid obligations for salaries, pensions, gratuities or certified contractor bills.

He also challenged anyone capable of disproving his account of the state’s finances to do so, declaring: “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.” 

Presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has authorised University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and other academic institutions he attended to make public his certificates to anybody desiring to see them.

Obi gave the authorisation in a statement made available to newsmen in Awka on Tuesday by his media aide, Valentine Obienyem.

The academic certificates obtained by the presidential candidate have, of recent, become a subject of legal scrutiny.

This is against the backdrop of the suit instituted by a Labour Party chieftain, Abayomi Arabambi, against UNN, praying the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the release of Obi’s academic records.

Arabambi is asking the court to compel the institution to provide certified true copies of records relating to a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy allegedly awarded to the former Anambra governor in 1984.

Obi, however, said in the statement that he was not afraid of public scrutiny of his academic records.

He argued that the country’s democratic process would further be emboldened if all public office seekers made public what they claimed to have as educational qualifications.

According to him, there is no objection to the request, as public scrutiny of academic credentials of public office seekers is a legitimate request, describing it as part of the beauty of democracy.

He said he had no objection to UNN making his academic certificates, records and other official documents available upon legitimate requests and within the limits permitted by law.

The NDC presidential candidate also gave his consent to other educational institutions he attended within and outside Nigeria to release his academic records in accordance with applicable laws and procedures.

He said that transparency and accountability were particularly important for individuals seeking public office, noting that public scrutiny should be fair, lawful and applied consistently to all presidential candidates.

“As a presidential candidate seeking the trust of Nigerians to lead our country, I welcome legitimate public interest in my background, qualifications and record,” he said.

Obi stated that anyone seeking the highest office in the country should be prepared to undergo reasonable scrutiny and demonstrate, through words and actions, that they had nothing to conceal from the people they were seeking to serve.

Obi also challenged other presidential candidates to make their educational qualifications and relevant records available for legitimate public scrutiny.

Such disclosure, he said, should be seen as an opportunity to strengthen public confidence, promote accountability and rebuild trust in political leadership.

The former governor maintained that leadership must reflect the values Nigerians expect in the society they seek to build, including transparency, integrity, accountability and respect for institutions.

“I therefore welcome the scrutiny of my academic background and remain committed to the principle that those who ask Nigerians for their trust must also be willing to earn that trust through openness and accountability,” he said.(NAN)

By David Torough, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a systematic integration of National Identification Numbers (NIN) into the national voter register as part of efforts to audit, verify and eliminate irregularities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Acting Chairman of the Commission, Prof.

Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving the African Union (AU) Pre-Election Needs Assessment Mission led by former Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen.

Gumus said the exercise, being undertaken in collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and through INEC’s Continuous Voter Registration portal, was aimed at ensuring that the voter register meets the highest standards of integrity as the electorate approaches the 100-million mark.

She said INEC was preparing to accredit and facilitate voting across 176,846 polling units, describing the scale of the 2027 election as a major operational undertaking.

“Through our strategic collaboration with the NIMC and the implementation of our continuous voter registration portal, we have systematically integrated NIN to audit, verify, and clean our national voter register,” Gumus said.

She assured Nigerians that the Commission remained committed to neutrality, independence and professionalism, stressing that every administrative decision would be guided by the law and that technology would be deployed to promote transparency.

Gumus said the outcome of the 2027 general election would ultimately reflect the will of Nigerian voters.

She cited recent off-cycle elections in Anambra, the Federal Capital Territory, Ekiti and Osun as important testing grounds for reforms under the new Electoral Act 2026.

According to her, the Osun election recorded more than 94 per cent early-morning logistical opening rates, while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and security arrangements performed optimally.

The Acting Chairman, however, acknowledged that the 2027 polls would present significant technological, logistical and political challenges given the size and diversity of the country.

She therefore called for stronger technical and institutional support from the AU, particularly in digital training for ad hoc election personnel, combating election-related disinformation and deepfakes, strengthening the Election Monitoring and Support Centre, and improving inclusion and gender-mainstreaming.

Earlier, Mekonnen said the AU mission was in Nigeria to assess the country’s overall preparedness for the 2027 elections, identify potential gaps and risks, and determine areas where technical assistance could strengthen the electoral process.

He said the mission would examine the readiness and integrity of the voter register, the deployment of electoral technologies including BVAS and IReV, logistics, funding, security coordination, inclusion of women and young people, dispute-resolution mechanisms and results management.

Mekonnen stressed that timely funding was critical to successful election planning, while also underscoring the need for a credible, transparent and inclusive process that provides a fair playing field for all political actors.

The AU delegation’s engagement with INEC forms part of broader efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and electoral governance in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.