Abia State Governor Alex Otti has renewed his claim that former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi left about $155 million in state funds and investments when he left office in 2014, adding a first-hand account to the growing controversy over the financial legacy of the former governor.
Otti, who was Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank at the time, made the disclosure during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, September 25, 2026, while responding to a resurfaced video in which he praised Obi for leaving substantial resources for his successor.
The governor said the video was recorded in 2020 and reflected his assessment that Obi demonstrated that public office holders could leave government with substantial resources rather than liabilities.
According to Otti, his position was based partly on his direct involvement in the financial arrangements involving the Anambra government while he headed Diamond Bank.
He said Obi had approached him over how to preserve funds belonging to the state and initially considered keeping the money in naira.
“As the CEO of Diamond Bank then, Peter Obi left $155 million. I can attest to that. He wanted to leave it in naira, but I advised him to leave it in dollars.”
Otti said the recommendation was based on concerns about the continued depreciation of the naira. He maintained that the funds were subsequently converted into dollars and placed in investments, including Eurobonds and bank capital instruments.
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The claim is not new. Otti made a similar assertion publicly in December 2022, saying he had been involved in helping Obi secure Eurobonds and other investments involving the funds.
Fresh dimension to Anambra financial dispute
Otti’s latest comments come amid an intensifying dispute between Obi and the current Anambra State administration over the state’s financial position at the end of Obi’s tenure.
The Anambra government has recently maintained that successive administrations, including Obi’s, incurred loans and other liabilities that are still being serviced.
The state’s Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, said the Soludo administration inherited debts from previous governments, while the Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, subsequently released loan records in support of the government’s position.
Obi has rejected the allegations, insisting that he did not borrow money or issue bonds on behalf of Anambra during his eight years as governor. He said he left office in March 2014 without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or verified obligations to contractors.
The former governor has also maintained that more than $150 million was left in investments across banks, including the former Diamond Bank, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank.
What the $155m represents
The central issue in the dispute is not simply whether funds existed, but how they were structured, valued and accounted for at the point of handover and in subsequent years.
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Otti has said the funds were converted into dollar-denominated investments rather than left idle in naira accounts. Earlier reporting on his account said the investments included Eurobonds and Tier-2 capital instruments, with some maturities extending beyond Obi’s tenure.
Recent reports have also cited historical handover records putting the foreign-currency investment portfolio at around $156 million, while other accounts have used the $150 million figure.
This distinction is significant because the existence of investments does not, by itself, resolve questions about other loans, contractual obligations or liabilities attributed to an administration.
Otti distances himself from current debt claims
Asked about claims by the current Anambra government that Obi left debts behind, Otti said he could not independently speak for the state’s present financial position because he was not part of the current administration.
He said the appropriate way to settle the dispute would be through documentary evidence from the government and relevant financial records.
His intervention nevertheless provides an account from a banker who said he participated directly in the transaction at the time it was structured.
The controversy now centres on competing accounts: Obi and his supporters point to savings and dollar-denominated investments allegedly left for the state, while the Anambra government points to outstanding loans and other obligations inherited by subsequent administrations.
Resolving the dispute would require a comprehensive examination of the state’s audited accounts, handover documents, investment certificates, loan agreements, repayment records and the subsequent status of the funds.
For now, Otti’s testimony has added another significant voice to an increasingly contentious debate over what Peter Obi actually left behind in Anambra in 2014.