The Presidency has challenged former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi to honour his pledge to stop campaigning if it is established that his administration left behind outstanding debts and other financial liabilities.

The challenge was issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, amid an escalating dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the financial obligations allegedly left by his administration.

Onanuga, in a post on X on Wednesday, referenced Obi’s earlier statement that he would stop campaigning if anyone could prove that he left Anambra State in debt.

According to the presidential aide, the Anambra State Government had presented what it described as facts and figures concerning outstanding obligations involving Water Corporation workers, teachers, pensions and gratuities, as well as loans.

Onanuga subsequently asked whether Obi would follow through on his pledge and withdraw from the presidential race.

The controversy followed claims by the Anambra State Government concerning liabilities allegedly associated with the period Obi governed the state.

Obi has rejected the allegations, maintaining that his administration cleared more than N35 billion in inherited arrears and did not leave unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or obligations to contractors for completed and certified projects. He has challenged the state government and other critics to provide evidence to the contrary.

The former governor said he would stop campaigning if it could be established that he left the state with the debts being alleged.

The dispute has now become part of the political debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the Presidency and Obi offering contrasting accounts of the financial position of Anambra State at the end of his tenure.

The competing claims have not been independently resolved in the reports reviewed, with both sides maintaining their respective positions on the state’s financial records.