TD The Big Tent Coalition, led by Professor Pat Utomi, has rejected the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council’s demand that Peter Obi withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
This was contained in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Communications, Charles Odibo.
The statement followed a recent demand by APC campaign council spokesman Dele Alake that Obi quit the 2027 race.
APC had made the call over alleged $123.77 million in external loans associated with his tenure as Anambra State governor.
The call followed disclosures by the Anambra State Government concerning ‘loans contracted during Obi’s 2006–2014 tenure’.
The Anambra government claimed that eight external borrowing facilities associated with projects during the period had a combined original value of about $123.77 million, with $92.35 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
The coalition described the APC campaign council’s position as an attempt to divert attention from the appalling performance of the Bola Tinubu administration.
Big Tent disputes APC’s interpretation
Big Tent rejected the characterization of the facilities as loans personally or independently borrowed by Obi or the Anambra State Government.
The coalition said several of the projects cited by the Soludo administration were Federal Government programmes financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), with Anambra participating alongside other Nigerian states.
For example, World Bank documentation identifies the Malaria Control Booster Project as a facility whose borrower was the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Anambra was one of seven participating states.
Similarly, World Bank documentation for the State Education Program Investment Project (SEPIP) identifies a $150 million credit to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Funds were subsequently provided to participating states, including Anambra, through subsidiary financing arrangements.
Big Tent also cited Fadama III, Health Systems Development II, the Community and Social Development Project, NEWMAP and the Value Chain Development Programme.
It argued that describing the facilities collectively as independent loans personally contracted by Obi misrepresents their financing structure.
The coalition challenged the APC and Anambra governments to distinguish between the federal borrower, participating state and projects implemented within Anambra.
Anambra Government maintains its position
The Soludo administration has maintained that its figures are based on official debt records and that the loans contracted during Obi’s tenure remain financial obligations being serviced by subsequent administrations.
The state government said the eight facilities were signed between 2007 and 2013 and that their outstanding balance had reached approximately $92.35 million, equivalent to about ₦127.4 billion using the exchange rate applied in its calculation.
The dispute therefore centres partly on the distinction between projects undertaken in Anambra during Obi’s tenure and the legal identity of the borrower under the relevant financing agreements.
The Debt Management Office maintains historical records of federal and state external debt, including its December 2013 debt-stock records.
Big Tent turns the argument toward Tinubu
Rather than accepting the APC’s demand for Obi’s withdrawal, Big Tent argued that the political debate should focus on the records of the respective administrations.
Odibo criticised the Tinubu government over economic hardship, insecurity, healthcare, education, infrastructure and electricity.
He questioned why the APC was focusing on Obi’s record in Anambra.
The coalition also invoked Tinubu’s previous statements about electricity delivery.
It argued that the President should be judged against commitments made before taking office.
Big Tent further challenged the legitimacy of the 2023 presidential election.
It cited an analysis by Mundx Analytics which found that 48.8 per cent of 103,399 IReV result sheets with readable device metadata were uploaded from non-BVAS devices.
A widening 2027 political battle
The exchange marks another escalation in the emerging political contest between the APC and Obi’s political camp ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The APC campaign council has used the Anambra debt disclosures to challenge Obi’s presentation of his governorship record.
Big Tent and Obi’s supporters have, however, disputed the interpretation of the borrowing figures.
They questioned whether the projects should properly be described as loans independently contracted by Obi.
At the centre of the dispute is therefore not simply the $123.77 million figure, but the more fundamental question of:
- who legally borrowed the money,
- how the financing was structured, and,
- what obligations remained with Anambra State after Obi left office in 2014.
Both sides are now using the issue as a political weapon.
Nonetheless, the underlying World Bank financing agreements and official debt records remain central to establishing the factual record.
