The media assistant to former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Valentine Obienyem, has denied a contractor’s allegation that the Obi administration owed him N36m at the end of his term as governor in 2014.
The former governor’s assertion that it owed no contractor but left a substantial N75bn in the state treasury for the successor was criticised by Chief Ikem Okeke of the Nri community in Peter Obi’s Anaocha local government area of the state, who contended that the Obi administration owed him N36m for a completed project as of the end of his tenure.
However, in a press statement in Awka, Obienyem stated that Okeke merely made the accusations in order to undermine the impressive record of accomplishments of his principal’s administration.
According to Obienyem, the government had sponsored Public Service Announcements in a few national dailies and other media outlets six months before the end of Obi’s administration, which it “urged contractors and suppliers with unpaid claims to come forward for resolution.”
He further included that under Obi’s eight-year rule, the Anambra State government collaborated with more than 5,000 suppliers and contractors, and he said it was “interesting that only one individual has come up with such claims” of being owed N36m years later.
“The person behind this allegation is Chief Ikem Okeke from Nri. Notably, Chief Okeke’s mother served as commissioner for Education in Mr Obi’s government for several years.
“It is left for investigative journalists to unearth what he benefited in the ministry under his mother and against Obi’s policy that those in government should not award contracts to their sons and daughters.
“The baseless allegation of a debt of N36 million was known to the government. It was a contract that was duly settled, where the contractor was just trying to be clever and has gone to court and everywhere and yet lost out.
“These claims are not only unfounded but also represent a disingenuous attempt to tarnish Mr Obi’s reputation by an individual who now aligns with an opposing political camp.
“As Mr. Obi has always maintained, he is not a saint. However, his record in private, corporate, and public life remains unrivalled and exemplary,” he stated.