The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has authenticated the Bachelor of Arts degree certificate belonging to Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and confirmed he was legitimately admitted to study Philosophy in 1980. The university said Obi, whose full name is Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi, was admitted to the Faculty of Social Sciences on September 3, 1980, with registration number 80/26333.
UNN confirms Obi's graduation and certificate details
The university further confirmed that Obi graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with Second Class Honours (Lower Division) on December 15, 1984, under certificate number D000198. This authentication comes after months of controversy over Obi's academic records, which first emerged during his 2023 presidential run on the Labour Party platform.
Critics, including Abayomi Arabambi, national vice chairman (South-West) of a Labour Party faction led by Lamidi Apapa, had alleged that Obi could not have been admitted to study Philosophy without earning at least a credit in English Language and Mathematics. Arabambi appeared on News Central TV and a social media television platform, where he displayed copies of Obi's degree and other academic documents and questioned their authenticity.
What Peter Obi's WAEC result showed
The WAEC certificate Arabambi shared shows the bearer sat the Joint Examination for the School Certificate and General Certificate Examination at Christ the King College, Onitsha, Anambra State, in June 1978. The result shows a Grade 8 (pass) in English Language and Mathematics, a Grade 6 (credit) in Biology and Geography, a Grade 5 (credit) in Literature-in-English and Religious Knowledge, and a Grade 3 (good) in Economics.
UNN's response clarified that Obi did not rely solely on the June 1978 result for his admission. The university said he combined that result with a separate November/December 1978 GCE result, and together the two sets of results satisfied the O'Level requirements applicable at the time.
"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," the letter read.
Key questions still unanswered
Despite authenticating the degree, UNN's registrar's office failed to include the supporting documents it said were attached to its letter. Chief Registrar Ngozi Nnebedum initially ignored emails and calls from Premium Times requesting the missing annexures. When she eventually answered, she acknowledged the omission and promised to resend the documents, but did not follow through and later stopped responding to calls.
As a result, the details of Obi's November/December 1978 GCE result have not been independently verified. On Tuesday, Obi welcomed public scrutiny of his academic credentials in a social media post and urged other presidential candidates to open themselves to similar examination.
Earlier, Legit.ng also reported that Peter Obi asked the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to release his academic records after reports emerged of a legal action seeking certified copies of his credentials. The 2027 NDC presidential candidate said he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the university in 1984. Obi also challenged other presidential candidates to make their own educational qualifications available for public scrutiny.
