In a recent press release, Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo released what he described as the second part of an essay on former Governor Peter Obi. The statement, issued through Dr. Law Mefor, sought to reframe Obi’s financial legacy and was met with criticism from observers who argue it relies on manipulated metrics and a distorted view of past public spending.
Soludo’s release claims that Obi left Anambra without functioning water schemes, adequate education and health facilities, and that the state’s infrastructure was in a dire state. It also cites a figure of $4.05 billion—equivalent to ₦5.4 trillion at current exchange rates—as the total of Obi’s alleged spending, a number that critics say is misleading and lacks context.
No government will ever finish the work of development. HE Peter Obi still left a state without any functioning urban or rural water schemes; increasing insecurity and increased poverty, ostensibly dead public schools and dead public hospitals with grossly inadequate teachers and medical personnel (indeed 44% of all communities in Anambra, 78 out of 179) did not and still do not have any public primary schools (and this administration is only beginning to close the gap).
In contrast, records from Obi’s tenure show significant investments across several sectors. In the water sector, Obi’s administration revived dormant water schemes, including a project in Nnewi commissioned by EU envoy Mac Rae. In education, Obi returned mission schools to their original proprietors, allocated over ₦2 billion in grants, constructed five‑classroom blocks in all 177 communities, renovated hundreds of schools, and installed boreholes in more than 300 schools.
Obi also pioneered digital transformation, distributing roughly 40,000 computers, equipping 450 secondary schools with Microsoft Academies, and providing internet connectivity, generators, libraries, buses, and sick bays. Teacher welfare was addressed through the recruitment of thousands
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
