₦airaland Forum

PETER OBI AND THE ₦2.13 BILLION ECOLOGICAL FUND: THE “BLATANT LIE” THAT WENT TO THE BANK

Peter Obi did something unusually brave. Or unusually reckless.

He gave Nigerians a BANK. He gave an ACCOUNT NUMBER. He gave an AMOUNT. ₦2.13 BILLION.

Then came the trademark challenge: GO AND VERIFY.

Obi said the ecological fund was left “100 per cent intact” in First Bank Account No. 2018779464 when he left office.

Then he raised the stakes: “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”

Ah! By now, Nigerians know the political power of Obi's “go and verify.”

It sounds devastating because, ordinarily, who is going to start digging through twelve-year-old government bank records? Unfortunately, this time somebody apparently did. Anambra State Government went after THE ACCOUNT.

First discovery: According to the government, Account 2018779464 was not an ecological-fund account. It was an IGR CONSOLIDATED REVENUE ACCOUNT. Okay.

Perhaps ₦2.13 billion nevertheless entered it? Second discovery: Anambra says its certified account history shows that from 2011, when the account was opened, ₦2.13 billion NEVER appeared there—neither as an inflow nor a balance.

Oops. This was no longer politics. This was Obi's own account number answering Obi's own challenge.

And according to information available to me, officials have obtained the account history electronically and copies have circulated privately. Publicly, the government confirms obtaining a certified printout from inception to date.

So release it. Let Nigerians inspect the receipt themselves.

Because Obi did not say: “I think the money was somewhere in First Bank.” He named the bank. He named the account. He named the amount.

This is disgraceful! The wind has blown, and the rump of the hen has been exposed. Peter obi have been CAUGHT IN A BLATANT LIE!

Peter Obi himself threw down the gauntlet: prove his claims wrong and he would stop campaigning.

Today on ARISE News, Ayo asked Yunusa Tanko whether Obi would honour those words if the contrary evidence is established. Tanko said his principal owns up to his words.

Good. Then, MR PETER OBI, WHERE IS THE ₦2.13 BILLION? You named First Bank. You supplied the account number. You said the money was there.

DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT. Peter obi , see your life? The political confidence trick works because of its supreme certainty: GO AND VERIFY! CHECK IT! I CHALLENGE YOU! The confidence becomes part of the con.

But there is one dangerous problem with “Go and verify”: Sometimes people actually go. Sometimes they actually check. And sometimes they return with receipts.

Peter Obi threw the challenge. Now Obi must answer what they say they found.

Peter Obi matter don tire me, wallahi!

Next, I will explain what I call the ABA TRADER SYNDROME—and why I believe it explains an important part of the Peter Obi political persona.

Peter lies with passion and confidence that, if you not brilliant, you will think all he says is the truth.

He is bold with lies. I will say he is unique with telling lies.

When a Harvard professor called him “The Epitome of Lies”, I thought it was an exaggeration but gradually, I started to agree.

He is one of a kind when it comes to lies.

I don’t even believe his real name is Peter. Dude could be telling lies.

Is like peter obi thought everyone is like his Obidients oo 🤣🤣

HacheNoire:
Peter lies with passion and confidence that, if you not brilliant, you will think all he says is the truth.

He is bold with lies. I will say he is unique with telling lies.

When a Harvard professor called him “The Epitome of Lies”, I thought it was an exaggeration but gradually, I started to agree.

He is one of a kind when it comes to lies.

I don’t even believe his real name is Peter. Dude could be telling lies.

If Peter Obi were Yoruba, I would rechristen him with TWO names “Irogbemi” — Ìrò gbé mi: “lies carry me.” The political packaging travels fast; unfortunately, the receipts sometimes travel faster.

The second name will be “Irolabi” — Ìrò la bí: “born into lies.” Because every time one claim is interrogated, another appears to be waiting for verification.

CharlesCNG:
If Peter Obi were Yoruba, I would rechristen him with TWO names “Irogbemi” — Ìrò gbé mi: “lies carry me.” The political packaging travels fast; unfortunately, the receipts sometimes travel faster.

The second name will be “Irolabi” — Ìrò la bí: “born into lies.” Because every time one claim is interrogated, another appears to be waiting for verification.

Oba n lero would have been better. Obi lie confidently without feeling Amy remorse. If he had an atom of shame , he would have opted out from the presidential race as what he dared others for hve been presented to him..

At the same time, without the Obidients who deliberately not interested in seeing anything wrong about Obi, Obi would have faded into a thin air.

Ordinary Sug presidential candidate would sound intelligent than Peter Obi

Tinubu data boys go cry tire. They have been mandated not to sleep for the past 48hrs in their WhatsApp group

Now I believe Obi won the 2023 election, otherwise Tinubu and APC won’t be this desperate about a single man.


The man Peter Obi is stainless and not amount of mudslinging sticks.

After some research on the loan descriptions as released by the Anambra State Government which they claimed PO as Governor signed off and findings are as follows:

1. The Nigeria Malaria Control Booster Project (MCBP) 2007:

This was financed through a US$180 million IDA credit from the World Bank to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not a loan independently taken by the Anambra State Government. The World Bank records say the original IDA credit was approved in December 2006 and became effective on May 15, 2007.

Anambra was one of the seven participating states, along with Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano and Rivers.

VERDICT: FG was the borrower not Anambra State Government.

2. Fadama III:

This project was a World Bank/IDA-financed project for Nigeria. The World Bank's project documentation identifies the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the borrower, not Anambra State.

The original Fadama III project was approved in 2008. The World Bank records the project period as 2008–2013 and the original IDA financing as US$250 million.

Anambra was one of the states participating in the project. World Bank records specifically identify an Anambra State Fadama III Project, financed through IDA Credit No. 45960.

Therefore, describing the Anambra Fadama III programme simply as "a loan taken by Anambra State Government in 2007" would be misleading. The underlying World Bank borrowing was at the Federal Government level.

VERDICT: FG was the borrower not Anambra State Government

3. Health Systems Development ll (ADD FIN.)

The financial document listing Nigeria's state-level IDA obligations records “Health Systems Development” Anambra State, with a signing date of August 22, 2003, an amount of XDR 4,831,046, and a 0.75% service charge.

The same document separately lists Health System Development Project II (Additional Financing) for Anambra, so the 2009 reference may relate to the additional financing/HSDP II, rather than the original HSDP.

Anambra-specific records confirm that Health System Development Project II was World Bank-assisted, with activities being implemented in the state.

VERDICT: It was an FG project benefiting Anambra State. The Original document was signed in 2003 and 2009 was just an additional financing of the 2003 signed document.

4. The State Education Program Investment Project (SEPIP):

It started in 2013 and included Anambra State. However, the World Bank documents identify the Federal Government of Nigeria as the borrower, not Anambra State Government. The original financing was a US$150 million IDA credit to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with funds disbursed to Anambra, Bauchi and Ekiti through subsidiary financing agreements.

The World Bank's financing agreement for the original SEPIP is Credit No. 5220-NG, dated April 16, 2013.

VERDICT: FG was the borrower not Anambra State.

5.The Community and Social Development Project (P090644):

This project became effective in February 2009.
The World Bank's project completion report identifies the Federal Government of Nigeria as the borrower of the original IDA financing. The original commitment was SDR 121.5 million (US$200 million equivalent).
Anambra was just one of the participating states.

6:The Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP):

This project was approved by the World Bank in May 2012 and became effective in September 2013.

The original financing agreement was between the International Development Association (IDA) and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for US$600 million.

Anambra was one of the participating states and had its own State Project Management Unit (SPMU) implementing the project.

Anambra's project documents explicitly refer to the funds as part of the Federal Government's IDA credit. A 2014 procurement notice says the Federal Government had received the credit.

VERDICT: FG was the borrower not Anambra State Government.

7. The Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP):

Records shows VCDP was approved by IFAD in April 2012, not 2013.
The financing agreement was between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and IFAD, signed in August 2012.
The programme became effective in October 2013.

The original programme covered Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba.
The original financing included an IFAD loan of US$74.4 million, an IFAD grant of US$0.5 million, plus counterpart contributions from the Federal Government, participating states, LGAs and beneficiaries.

IFAD's documentation specifically describes the loan agreement as being between FGN and IFAD.

VERDICT: FG was the borrower not Anambra State Government.

OVERALL VERDICT:

All the project listed by the Soludo led Anambra State claiming that it was financed by loan independently taken by Anambra State Government under Mr. Peter Obi are 100% false and misleading. Verifiable World Bank records shows FG was indeed the borrower while Anambra State under Obi participated and benefited just like some other states.



If you look at the above data you will observed the approval mostly took place during Obi time but money were mostly not disbursed until after Obi tenure and few during Obi came when his tenure was about to over and not executed.

It should be noted Obi left office March 17, 2014, and most money has not be disbursed before leaving office.

More importantly, from further research, the loan the Federal Government borrowed was not even available while Obi was in office except the ecological fund which came during end of Obi tenure and not executed for the project.

The money was only earmarked and approved during Obi's tenure. The ecological fund portion came in when Obi was almost leaving office, and he deliberately did not spend it because government is a continuum. In fact, most of the funds did not arrive until after he had left office, but they were still credited to his era.

The bulk of the money actually came in during Obiano's time, and Soludo is wittingly misleading the public.

CharlesCNG:
PETER OBI AND THE ₦2.13 BILLION ECOLOGICAL FUND: THE “BLATANT LIE” THAT WENT TO THE BANK

Peter Obi did something unusually brave. Or unusually reckless.

He gave Nigerians a BANK. He gave an ACCOUNT NUMBER. He gave an AMOUNT. ₦2.13 BILLION.

Then came the trademark challenge: GO AND VERIFY.

Obi said the ecological fund was left “100 per cent intact” in First Bank Account No. 2018779464 when he left office.

Then he raised the stakes: “If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.”

Ah! By now, Nigerians know the political power of Obi's “go and verify.”

It sounds devastating because, ordinarily, who is going to start digging through twelve-year-old government bank records? Unfortunately, this time somebody apparently did. Anambra State Government went after THE ACCOUNT.

First discovery: According to the government, Account 2018779464 was not an ecological-fund account. It was an IGR CONSOLIDATED REVENUE ACCOUNT. Okay.

Perhaps ₦2.13 billion nevertheless entered it? Second discovery: Anambra says its certified account history shows that from 2011, when the account was opened, ₦2.13 billion NEVER appeared there—neither as an inflow nor a balance.

Oops. This was no longer politics. This was Obi's own account number answering Obi's own challenge.

And according to information available to me, officials have obtained the account history electronically and copies have circulated privately. Publicly, the government confirms obtaining a certified printout from inception to date.

So release it. Let Nigerians inspect the receipt themselves.

Because Obi did not say: “I think the money was somewhere in First Bank.” He named the bank. He named the account. He named the amount.

This is disgraceful! The wind has blown, and the rump of the hen has been exposed. Peter obi have been CAUGHT IN A BLATANT LIE!

Peter Obi himself threw down the gauntlet: prove his claims wrong and he would stop campaigning.

Today on ARISE News, Ayo asked Yunusa Tanko whether Obi would honour those words if the contrary evidence is established. Tanko said his principal owns up to his words.

Good. Then, MR PETER OBI, WHERE IS THE ₦2.13 BILLION? You named First Bank. You supplied the account number. You said the money was there.

DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT. Peter obi , see your life? The political confidence trick works because of its supreme certainty: GO AND VERIFY! CHECK IT! I CHALLENGE YOU! The confidence becomes part of the con.

But there is one dangerous problem with “Go and verify”: Sometimes people actually go. Sometimes they actually check. And sometimes they return with receipts.

Peter Obi threw the challenge. Now Obi must answer what they say they found.

Peter Obi matter don tire me, wallahi!

Next, I will explain what I call the ABA TRADER SYNDROME—and why I believe it explains an important part of the Peter Obi political persona.

PETER OBI AND THE ABA TRADER SYNDROME By CharlesCNG.

Let me explain something I call the Aba Trader Syndrome.

And before somebody deliberately misunderstands me, this is not an insult to Aba traders. Aba is one of Nigeria's great monuments to indigenous enterprise, ingenuity and hustle.

I am talking about a particular sales technique.

You enter a market looking for a shoe. The trader brings one out. “Original?” “Oga, ORIGINAL!”

“Leather?” “Correct Italian leather!” “Will it last?” “Oga, wear am for ten years. If anything happen, BRING AM BACK!”

That last sentence is the magic. BRING AM BACK!

The trader knows something about human psychology. The sheer audacity of the guarantee begins to function as evidence for the product.

You start thinking:If he isn't absolutely certain, why would he make such a reckless promise? Exactly. The confidence becomes part of the merchandise. The confidence is the main contrick.

That is what increasingly fascinates me about Peter Obi's political communication. Obi doesn't merely make claims.

He frequently packages them with performative certainty.

“Go and verify.” “Check it.” “Bring the records.” “If anybody establishes anything contrary, I will stop campaigning.”

Notice what happens psychologically.The challenge itself begins to substitute for verification.

Many listeners conclude: A MAN WHO IS ASKING YOU TO VERIFY MUST ALREADY HAVE VERIFIED HIMSELF.

But that precisely is the 419 part of the Aba Trader syndrome.


This technique was particularly effective during Obi's national emergence. Nigeria was exhausted with conventional politicians.
Then came a politician armed with numbers.

Cost of food abroad. Government expenditure. Savings. Investments. Debt. Bank balances. And that devastating refrain: GO AND VERIFY. The gullibles - especially the youths ate it up.

It created the image of a man so certain of his facts that he was practically handing his opponents the shovel with which to investigate him.

So how do we define the “ABA TRADER SYNDROME” It is the political sales technique where the boldness of the warranty DECEPTIVELY & FRAUDULENTLY becomes part of the proof of the product.

But there is a problem . You can fool some of the people some of the time but YOU CANNOT FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME

“Oga, take am home!” “Test am!” “Bring am back if e no work!” Wonderful.

And that is where Peter Obi's “Aba Trader Syndrome” appears to have developed a serious problem.

It worked brilliantly in 2023. The sales pitch was confident. The warranty was spectacular: GO AND VERIFY!
The confidence itself became part of the merchandise.

But 2027 is different.

THE CUSTOMERS HAVE STARTED RETURNING WITH THE GOODS.

Many of the people around him in 2023 are no more. He has failed the PROXIMITY TEST woefully.

Obi complained about his treatment at Abuja airport; Keyamo went to the CCTV. Obi's Anambra debt narrative came under challenge; Anambra went to the debt records. Staunch obidients like ojy Okpe , Rufai oseni and Ayo , all of Arise news have started asking the Tough questions and troblesome follow-up

Obi sat opposite Seun Okinbaloye to sell the presidential product again; the questions increasingly moved beyond slogans to plans, records and specifics.

That is the nightmare of every salesman whose greatest weapon is supreme confidence: THE CUSTOMER RETURNS.With the product in one hand and the receipt in the other.

And suddenly: “Oga, trust me!” is no longer enough.

That, perhaps, is Peter Obi's biggest political problem approaching 2027.

In 2023, millions encountered the salesman. By 2027, many have had time to inspect the merchandise.

The warranty now has footnotes. The slogans now have follow-up questions. The numbers now have spreadsheets.

And “Go and Verify” has acquired the four most dangerous words Peter Obi could possibly hear: WE WENT AND VERIFIED.

THE DAYS WHEN THE CONFIDENCE OF THE SALESMAN COULD SUBSTITUTE FOR INSPECTION OF THE GOODS ARE OVER.

Peter Obi and obidients - Welcome to the returns counter.