The academic credentials of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), have been a subject of controversy since 2023, when he contested the presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party (LP).

Political opponents and social media critics have claimed that the university degree certificate he parades is fake.

The assertion is anchored on the argument that Mr Obi could not have been admitted to study Philosophy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), without obtaining at least a credit in English Language and Mathematics in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination.

Claims have surfaced regarding discrepancies between the name he is publicly known by and the names appearing on his UNN degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates.

The allegation resurfaced in June and July after Abayomi Arabambi, the national vice chairman (South-West) of the Labour Party faction led by Lamidi Apapa, appeared on News Central TV and a social media television platform, where he displayed copies of Mr Obi’s degree certificate alongside other academic records and alleged that they were not genuine.

“You and I know … that you cannot study Philosophy with a pass in English Language and Mathematics. See the thing: your brother used to enter university and you can Google it whether you can study philosophy with three credits,” he said.

He referred listeners to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s website, which, he said, shows that a prospective student must have five credits including English and Mathematics to be admitted for Philosophy.

“I studied Engineering; English and Mathematics are compulsory. That means he entered that school with three credits out of five required for studying philosophy,” Mr Arabambi said during the interview.

Checking the claims
To fact-check the claim, PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Arabambi to obtain copies of the academic credentials he referenced during the interview. He obliged and shared copies of the documents with our reporter.

The WAEC certificate referenced by the Labour Party chief shows the bearer’s name as Obi Gregory Onwubuasi.

The certificate also shows that the candidate sat the ‘Joint Examination for the School Certificate and General Certificate Examination (GCE)’ at Christ The King College, Onitsha, Anambra State in June 1978.

According to the result details on the certificate, the candidate received Grade 8, equivalent to pass, in English Language and Mathematics.

He scored Grade 7, also equivalent to a pass, in Government and Chemistry.

He scored Grade 6, equivalent to a credit, in Biology and Geography.

He scored Grade 5, equivalent to a credit, in Literature-in-English and Religious Knowledge, and

In Economics, he received Grade 3, equivalent to good.

Following this, in July, PREMIUM TIMES wrote to the UNN, invoking the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011, to confirm whether its records showed that Mr Obi was admitted to study Philosophy with the results on the school certificate.

The letter also sought to know if, with those results, Mr Obi met the minimum O’Level requirements for admission into the university’s Philosophy undergraduate programme at the time.

This newspaper also sought to know whether there were alternative admission pathways, exemptions, remedial programmes or equivalent qualifications that could have enabled a candidate to gain admission despite not having at least a credit in English Language and Mathematics.

Ultimately, the letter asked the university to confirm if Mr Obi completed his undergraduate studies and graduated, and to authenticate the degree certificate credited to him.

The WAEC certificate in question and a copy of the UNN degree certificate issued to Mr Obi were attached to the letter for ease of reference.

The findings
In the university’s reply to PREMIUM TIMES’ FOI request, the registrar’s office confirmed Mr Obi’s admission to study Philosophy and authenticated his degree certificate.

In the response dated 26 August and signed by Eseme Obiora, a senior deputy registrar, the UNN confirmed that Mr Obi was duly admitted to study Philosophy in 1980.

“Mr. Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi was duly admitted by the University Authority to study Philosophy in the Faculty of the Social Science on September 03, 1980, with registration number 80/26333 and reference number in his admission letter was JAMB/ICMS/80 and Serial No. 07928, signed by one M. Shehu for JAMB Registrar (Annexure B Letter dated 3rd September, 1980). Admission,” the letter read.Try Time Trackers

Authenticating the degree copy of certificate presented by PREMIUM TIMES as duly issued to Mr Obi upon completion of his undergraduate programme, the university wrote that “the Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with Second Class Honours Lower Division dated 15th December, 1984 emanated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and was awarded to him by the University Senate with the Certificate No D000198.”

On the question of whether Mr Obi’s O’Level qualifications qualified him for admission at the time, UNN answered in the affirmative.

The university confirmed that Mr Obi met the O’Level requirements, adding that there were no alternative admission pathways, exemptions, remedial programmes or equivalent qualifications involved in his admission.

“The O’Level Certificate Mr. Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi presented fulfilled and/or met the requirement prescribed by the University Entrance Board during the time and was therefore admitted to study Philosophy.

“There were no alternative admission pathways, exemptions, remedial programmes or equivalent qualification that Mr. Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi took before he was admitted to study Philosophy by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He was qualified ab initio,” it said.

The university further confirmed that Mr Obi, whose full name was given as Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi, was admitted to study Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences on 3 September 1980.Try Time Trackers

Confirming that Mr Obi met the O’Level requirements for admission, the letter said the presidential candidate combined two WAEC results – the publicised one from the June 1978 examinations and the less known one from the November/December 1978.

“Yes, Mr. Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi was admitted into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study Philosophy with his West African Examination Council (WAEC) date June 1978 Appendix C” result, the WAEC Number 04104138 and another Nov/Dec GCE 1978 result combined that qualified him to be admitted to study Philosophy.”

Verdict
The claim that Mr Obi is parading a fake university degree certificate is false.

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which issued the certificate, has authenticated it and confirmed that Mr Obi was duly admitted to study Philosophy in 1980 and subsequently awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy with Second Class Honours (Lower Division) in 1984.

The university also confirmed that the O’Level qualifications he presented, comprising his WAEC results from the June 1978 examinations and November/December 1978 GCE, met the admission requirements applicable at the time.

Therefore, the claim that Mr Obi’s UNN degree certificate is fake is not supported by the university’s records.

But PREMIUM TIMES has yet to ascertain the details of Mr Obi’s November/December 1978 GCE results.

The UNN registrar’s office misleadingly indicated in the letter sent to PREMIUM TIMES that copies of both results and other supporting documents were attached as annexures.

None of those documents were sent with the letter to PREMIUM TIMES as indicated. Frantic efforts to draw the attention of the Chief Registrar, Ngozi Nnebedum, and her office to the omission – urging them to resend the letter with the attached documents – have been futile.

Mrs Nnebedum and her office ignored this newspaper’s e-mails requesting the missing details. The registrar subsequently ignored PREMIUM TIMES’ repeated phone calls. When she finally answered our call on Monday, she expressed surprise that the annexures were omitted and promised to re-send them. But she neither kept the promise nor answered subsequent calls.

In the first place, it took repeated phone calls across weeks for Mrs Nnebedum to respond to the FOI request.

On Tuesday, Mr Obi welcomed public scrutiny of his academic credentials in a social media post, and urged other presidential candidates to submit themselves to such examination by interested members of the public.

…unleashes NDC Presidential Candidate’s performance record

The Peter Obi Media Office has defended the presidential ambition of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Peter Obi, arguing that his claim to the preside’cy is based on his record ’n Anambra State and experience in business and financial management rather than political patronage.

In a statement issued yesterday, Sunday, September 13, 2026, and signed by Idris Zekeri Jnr, Peter Obi Media Office, the office said It was responding to what it described as arguments by supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Obi was overhyped and that his popularity and political ratings were overrated.

The Media Office said Obi’s record in Anambra State provided a basis for assessing his capacity to govern at the national level, noting that he had managed a state before seeking to manage the country.

“Peter Obi managed a state before seeking to manage a nation. He served as Governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, with interruptions arising from the political and legal battles surrounding his tenure. He eventually won re-election in 2010, completed his second term, and emerged as the best-performing state governor in his time,” the statement said.

According to the Media Office, one of the strongest elements of Obi’s governance record was fiscal discipline, citing what it described as substantial savings and investments accumulated during his tenure as governor.

It said Obi’s 2023 manifesto recorded approximately $500 million in investments and savings, including $156 million in dollar-denominated bonds.

The office argued that the record demonstrated that government could preserve financial resources rather than simply spend available funds.

“He showed that government could save rather than merely spend. This is perhaps one of the clearest contrasts in his political message: leaving substantial financial reserves behind after leaving office. The record presented in his manifesto includes local and foreign currency savings and investments,” it stated.

The Media Office also highlighted education as a central part of Obi’s record, saying his administration returned mission schools to their original owners and established partnerships with them.

It said Obi’s manifesto reported that Anambra subsequently moved from 24th to first position in WAEC/NECO performance for three consecutive years.

Beyond infrastructure, the office said Obi’s administration invested in scholarships, education, healthcare and poverty mapping, describing the approach as one that placed human capital at the centre of development.

“He invested in human capital rather than only physical projects. The record includes scholarships, support for education, healthcare investments and poverty mapping—an approach consistent with the argument that development is ultimately about improving people’s productive capacity,” the statement said.

The Media Office also cited healthcare investments during Obi’s tenure, saying his administration invested in health institutions and accreditation.

According to the statement, more than 12 health institutions, including two hospitals, had secured accreditation by the end of Obi’s tenure, compared with none at the beginning.

It further pointed to Obi’s engagement with international development organisations, including the World Bank, UNDP, DFID and the European Union, as well as diplomatic engagements with foreign governments.

The office said Obi’s administration also introduced poverty mapping, aerial mapping and planning initiatives and developed the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS) as a framework for coordinated development.

It added that Obi’s experience before entering politics, including his career in business and banking and senior roles in the financial sector, gave him a combination of private-sector, financial-management and public-sector experience.

The Media Office argued that Obi’s presidential case should therefore be judged against his record in office rather than solely against campaign promises.

“Peter Obi is not asking Nigerians to make him President so that he can learn how government works. He is asking Nigerians to entrust him with Nigeria after demonstrating, as Governor of Anambra, how he manages money, builds institutions, invests in human capital and plans for the future,” the statement said.

The office maintained that the former Anambra governor had left behind a record that Nigerians could examine in assessing his suitability for the presidency.

It said the question was therefore not whether Obi had been politically promoted, but whether his previous record justified the ratings and popularity he currently enjoyed in the political space.

At least two newly deployed Mobile Police officers attached to Ayilamo community in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State have been killed after they were ambushed by armed invaders.

Our correspondent reports that the incident occurred at about 6pm on Monday while the officers were on their way to escort the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ayilamo, who was returning to the community from Makurdi.

The incident brings to six the total number of policemen killed in Ayilamo within three days, following Friday’s attack, which claimed the lives of four Mobile Police officers and seven civilians in the community.

Although the identities of the slain officers were not immediately disclosed as of the time of filing this report, the deceased personnel were reportedly attacked along the route while making their way to meet the DPO, who was returning to Ayilamo after his trip to Makurdi.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Peter Aondongu, confirmed the incident to journalists in Makurdi on Tuesday by telephone.

Aondongu said the DPO’s entourage was ambushed on its way back from Makurdi to Ayilamo, confirming that the incident involved an attack on police personnel.

The PPRO admitted that the incident claimed the lives of two policemen.

Residents of the area also told newsmen that the attackers were suspected to be armed invaders operating from forests and deserted villages within Tombo Council Ward of Logo LGA.

The residents also expressed concern over the alleged movement of armed men through forests and abandoned settlements in the area, calling for sustained security operations to prevent further attacks. (Daily Trust)