By Obinna Oriaku
Last week, the Debt Management Office (DMO) published its latest report on the debt profiles of states and the Federal Government.
While we acknowledge the reduction in domestic debt among states, we also observed that some of these figures appear to be manipulated to create a false impression of sound financial management, whereas the reality across many states suggests otherwise especially Abia state report.
Public debt is the total financial obligation a government owes to creditors, including domestic investors (banks, individuals) and foreign lenders (countries, institutions like the IMF), often used to fund development. As of April 2026, Nigeria’s public debt has surged to roughly ₦159.27 trillion ($94.23B-$101.91B range)
The total debt profile of a state is made up of domestic or local and foreign or external debt. It is also called Public debt . Abia state government either out ignorance or deliberate manipulation decided to ignore external or foreign loan of $107m components of Abia State loan as contained in same report being refenced.The attached DMO report of Sept, 2024 ,shows that Abia total domestic at N89 billion. Why the deceit?
WHAT IS LOCAL DEBT.?
Domestic or local debt refers to the money a government owes to people and organizations within the country, such as banks, institutions, and individuals, and it is usually in the local currency.
In this context, domestic/local debt refers to obligations owed to contractors, civil servants, pensioners, and other government entities.
As confirmed by the auditing firm KPMG, engaged by Governor Otti’s administration upon assumption of office in May 2023, the administration inherited a credit balance of N4.3 billion in the official Abia State Government accounts held with Union Bank of Nigeria Ltd and UBA.
Therefore, the so-called N142 billion debt repayment presents a narrative that does not reflect the reality in today’s Abia state
The Abia State Government has always adopted manipulation as a tool to mask its abysmal performance, and this extends to the fabrication of reports submitted to the DMO office in Abuja, which, unfortunately, does not independently fact-check all submissions received from Umuahia or any other state on a quarterly basis.
What are the domestic debt repayments that gulped the N142 billion, according to the Abia State Government claim?
It is on record that no known contractor from previous administrations has been paid a kobo since the Otti administration began. There is official policy to black such payment requests.
Last month, Governor Otti confirmed the setting up of a committee to review the outstanding N65 billion gratuity owed to Abia pensioners, which dates back to 2002. It is also on record that Abia remains one of the few states yet to take full advantage of the increased revenues from the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira to clear long-standing obligations.
By contrast, Imo State used N83 billion to clear arrears dating back to 2005, Enugu State paid N24 billion to reduce gratuity obligations dating back to 2010, while Anambra State used N7 billion to settle arrears incurred during the administration of Willie Obiano.
We also have over 35% of pensioners in Abia who are currently not being paid pensions. Fact-check me on this. Many of these pensioners have already been verified by the relevant agency but are still yet to receive payment, some as far back as November 2023
Many of the Government to government debts are still outstanding, as most of the loans procured by the Federal Government on behalf of states such as bailout funds have a tenure of about 15 years and are still actively running.
Which individuals, agencies, or organisations received the N142 billion claimed to be used in repaying Abia’s debt? The embarrassing aspect of this claim is that the same government acknowledges a gratuity liability of N65 billion, while same DMO reports also show that the total outstanding domestic debt stands at about N49 billion. This raises questions, Where do we situate the unpaid gratuity of N65b, beyond other verifable unpaid debt if N49b is the only outstanding debt of the state as reported.. This has exposed fraud and manipulation in the summation of outstanding debts of Abia state .
EXTERNAL LOAN AS AT DECEMBER 2025
Abia’s external or foreign debt increased slightly from $105,229,456.09 to $107,163,236.44 as stated by the DMO report. This aspect of the DMO report has been ignored and deliberately downplayed, while attention was instead shifted to fabricated figures just to project favourable image.
For clarity, I understand the dynamics of the DMO report, especially regarding domestic debt. The DMO in Abuja did not anticipate that any responsible government would manipulate and manufacture figures to mislead Abians and Nigerians. It is generally expected that government officials will report their domestic debt sincerely. As a result, the DMO largely relies on reports submitted by states on contractor payments, outstanding salaries,pensions, and gratuities.
Abia State Government has continued to deceive Nigerians with claims about non-existent projects used as conduit to claim huge funds, as reflected and confirmed in its financial reports. We never knew they would extend that manipulation to an agency like DMO.
Can the Abia State Government provide evidence of payments made to old contractors owed by previous administrations?
The outstanding payments of current contractors constitute part of the report. We are aware that most sites are not active due to non payment for certificates generated since November 2025.
Abia state Government is expected to provide evidence and total amount paid as old ( inherited debt) on pensions. They have acknowledged they have not paid a kobo as gratuity.
Provide evidence repayment of Government to Government from the CBN especially as they were not owing any commercial bank as at May 2023 as confirmed by KPMG
It is clear that Abia State Government did not use ₦142 billion to pay down any debt in reality. This figure appears to be presented as window dressing in relation to the full report on Abia State’s finances.
Abia State has received a total of about N1.6 trillion as of March 2026 in revenue, including allocations to local governments. However, this has not translated into iconic projects in the state. On workers’ welfare, Some Abia workers earn about N23,000 monthly, compared to about N104,000 being paid in Imo State.
Where is Abia’s N1.6 trillion as of March 2026? If such a huge amount is not reflected in commensurate infrastructure or in the welfare packages of Abia workers and pensioners, then where exactly is the money being channelled to?
We must continue to hold this government accountable. They have concluded that Abians are fools and will never question their manipulations.
Obinna Oriaku
Former Commissioner for Finance 2015/ 2019
Ekwedike.
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