In 2007, Daily Sun reported that Anambra State Governor Peter Obi had blocked pension payments to former governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju, who had left office in 2003 with more than ₦1 billion in unpaid pensions. Unnamed sources told the newspaper that Mbadinuju had left behind 16 months of unpaid pensions and once described protesting pensioners as “dead woods.” Obi reportedly said he found it difficult to approve Mbadinuju’s pension while the state was still struggling to clear the backlog of unpaid pensions he had inherited. Daily Sun reported, “Obi said that he could not approve Mbadinuju's pension in good conscience as ₦1.7 billion duly paid to the state by the Federal Government was missing and was still being investigated.” The governor’s spokesperson, Valentine Obienyem, did not confirm the report. However, when asked for his thoughts, he said, “It will become a good lesson to those that govern states that sooner or later, our actions and omissions will haunt us.”