Tanko Challenges All Governors Since 1999 to Publish Handover Notes Like Peter Obi
Yunusa Tanko, coordinator of the Obidient Movement, has issued a bold public challenge to every Nigerian governor who has served since the return to democracy in 1999: publish your full handover notes to successors and submit them to public scrutiny.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Tanko pointed to former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi’s 2014 financial handover document as a “heroic” example of accountability.
He urged past and present state leaders to follow suit, declaring that true accountability demands openness about what was inherited, spent, and left behind.
“Let all governors, from 1999 till date, have the courage to publish their handover notes to their successors. Be accountable to the people,” Tanko wrote, while circulating the detailed document Obi presented when he handed over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014.
What the Document Shows
The official Anambra State handover report, addressed to Obiano and signed by Obi, provides a clear financial snapshot as of the close of business on March 14, 2014. It lists:
- Local investments: ₦27 billion
- Foreign currency investments (US$156 million): ₦26.5 billion
- Certified State/MDAs balances: approximately ₦28.17 billion
- Federal Government approved refund: ₦10 billion
After deducting an estimated ₦5 billion for March salaries, pensions, gratuities and approved certificates for completed projects, the net balance stood at ₦86.67 billion.
Tanko argued that this level of detailed disclosure should become the standard rather than the exception.
He framed the call as a broader demand for transparency that goes beyond any single politician and applies to every leader who has managed public resources.
Context of Renewed Debate
The challenge arrives amid ongoing public exchanges over Obi’s eight-year record in Anambra. Supporters continue to highlight the documented net positive position and claim that the state left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, or certified contractor debts.
Critics and the current Anambra State Government under Governor Charles Soludo have pointed to inherited external loans and contractual liabilities that they say remain outstanding years later.
By elevating Obi’s records as a benchmark, Tanko is attempting to shift the conversation from selective criticism of one former governor to a systemic demand for openness from all who have held executive power at the state level since 1999.
Growing Calls for Fiscal Transparency
Nigeria’s history of limited public access to detailed handover notes has long fuelled suspicion about the true financial state of states at the end of each administration.
Tanko’s intervention seeks to normalize the practice of publishing such documents so that citizens, civil society, and the media can independently assess performance.
Political observers note that the call could put pressure on both current governors and those who left office years ago. Whether the appeal gains traction will depend on how many former and serving governors are prepared to open their records to the same level of detail Obi provided more than a decade ago.
As the debate intensifies, Tanko’s message remains straightforward: if one former governor could publish a comprehensive financial handover note showing a strong net position, others should find the courage to do the same. Accountability, he insists, must not be selective.
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