By Pascal Ibe

Claim

An X user, Trojan Beast News claimed that Peter Obi was denied entry into the Obafemi Awolowo University )OAU) because of his third-class degree certificate in philosophy.

Verdict

This claim is MISLEADING. First, the OAU declined the venue for Peter Obi’s lecture and didn’t stop him from visiting the school. Giving reasons for this, the university management explained that it declined approval for the proposed venue of a lecture to be delivered by the former Anambra State governor, due to short notice by the organisers.

Full Text

Amid the 2027 general elections in Nigeria which are barely ten months away, drama has already started playing out in the political arena among the heavyweights.

The current Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, may have been hoping to gum a smooth second tenure until the emergence of the coalition opposition party, African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2025.

Since then, many political bigwigs, including the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, have joined the ADC.

As the build-up to party primaries draws closer, the ADC has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of “plotting a crisis in the party”.

A few weeks ago, the ADC also alleged that the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who is in alliance with President Tinubu, denied the party a crucial venue for its congress.

The ADC had, in recent times, accused Tinubu’s administration of intimidating its presidential aspirants, including Peter Obi.

Obi, who joined the party in December last year, had been seen as an asset in the ADC and among the leading aspirants.

Since Obi gained popularity in 2023, he has been moving in different parts of the country, holding political meetings, lectures and others.

An X user, Trojan Beast News, recently claimed that the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party was not allowed to visit OAU by the Vice Chancellor.

Part of the claim by the X user reads, “BREAKING: OAU Rejects Peter Obi – “Third Class Philosopher Not Welcome in the Temple of Knowledge!”

As of the time of filing this check, the post has already garnered over 3k views and hundreds of reposts, according to X analytics.

Verification

A search on the Facebook page of OAU, we found a statement regarding the Peter Obi incident.

The varsity management did not refuse Obi a visit to OAU. However, it declined approval for the proposed venue of a lecture to be delivered by the former Anambra State governor, due to short notice by the organisers.

The university said organisers failed to provide adequate details about the event and the guest until Friday, a day before the programme.

According to the statement, the short notice made it impossible for the university to make the necessary security and logistical arrangements required for hosting high-profile personalities.

Several news organisations reported this here and here.

Obi raises concern

The institution’s clarification followed concerns raised by Obi over what he described as a growing pattern of cancelled engagements at Nigerian universities, which he warned could undermine intellectual freedom.

Obi had, in a statement shared via X on Saturday, said he was scheduled to deliver a keynote lecture at the university by 9 am before proceeding to Ibadan for an opposition parties’ summit, but was informed that the event had been called off.

The former Anambra State governor added that the incident was not isolated, noting that similar cancellations had occurred more than 10 times.

Conclusion

The incident where OAU declined the use of the venue for Obi’s lecture, was used to mock the politician by the X user.