The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has disowned a letter in which he was purported to have appealed to the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, over political and financial issues involving Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state.
Obi, in a statement posted on his X account on Saturday, described the letter as “entirely false” and malicious, saying the signature attached to the purported letter was forged.
The former Anambra governor urged members of the public and the media to disregard the document, which he said was designed to mislead the public.
“My attention has been drawn to a fake letter circulating on social media, purportedly written by me to His Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, concerning political and financial matters in Anambra State.
“This document is entirely false, malicious, and a fabrication by mischievous elements aimed at misleading the public. Furthermore, the signature appended to the letter is completely forged,” Obi said.
He added that his attention remained focused on national development and accountability rather than what he described as fabricated publications.
“My focus remains steadfastly on issues of national development, accountability, and building a better future for our people – never on cheap fabrications,” he said.
The denial comes amid an dispute between Obi and the Soludo administration over the financial position of Anambra State at the end of Obi’s tenure in 2014.
The purported letter, dated September 19, 2026, was addressed to the Obi of Onitsha and titled, “The Future of Ndigbo is Bleak.”
In it, the writer purportedly called for transparency over the financial records and liabilities of Anambra State, while urging traditional rulers, political leaders and elders to prevent political disagreements from dividing the people.
The document also called for the state’s financial records to be examined and for questions surrounding the administrations of Obi and Soludo to be resolved through evidence and transparency.
However, Obi has now disowned the letter and said its contents should not be attributed to him.
The controversy comes days after the Anambra State Government released details of loan facilities it attributed to Obi’s administration and insisted that the state was still carrying repayment obligations from that period.
On Friday, the state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said deductions were being made from Anambra’s monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, revenue to service eight external loan facilities linked to Obi’s administration.
Mefor said the facilities were originally valued at about $123.77 million and that the outstanding balance stood at about $92.35 million, equivalent to roughly N127.4 billion, as of June 30, that 2026, according to figures the state attributed to Debt Management Office records.
He maintained that federal guarantees attached to some of the facilities did not turn them into grants or remove the obligation to repay them.
“A loan is a loan,” Mefor said, insisting that the issue was whether Obi’s claim that he did not take loans and left no financial liabilities was accurate.
Obi, however, has disputed the state government’s characterisation of his financial record, maintaining that he left office without outstanding debts, salaries, pensions, gratuities or obligations to contractors for duly completed projects.
