The authenticity of Peter Obi’s university degree has come under renewed scrutiny following claims that the former Anambra State governor is parading a fake certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The controversy centres largely on the O’Level results attached to his academic records and whether the grades were sufficient for admission to study Philosophy at UNN in 1980.
Political opponents and social media critics have argued that Obi could not have secured admission to study Philosophy because the publicly circulated June 1978 WAEC result shows passes rather than credits in English Language and Mathematics.
Questions have also emerged over variations in the names appearing on Obi’s academic and National Youth Service Corps certificates.
The allegations resurface in June and July after Abayomi Arabambi, the national vice chairman, South-West, of the Labour Party faction led by Lamidi Apapa, appears on News Central TV and another social media television platform with copies of Obi’s academic documents.
Arabambi argues that the grades contained in the WAEC certificate could not satisfy the requirements for studying Philosophy at UNN.
The WAEC certificate presented in support of the allegation bears the name Obi Gregory Onwubuasi. It shows that the candidate sits the Joint Examination for the School Certificate and General Certificate Examination at Christ The King College, Onitsha, Anambra State, in June 1978.
The result records Grade 8, equivalent to a pass, in both English Language and Mathematics. The candidate also records Grade 7, also equivalent to a pass, in Government and Chemistry.
Higher grades appear in other subjects, including Grade 6, equivalent to a credit, in Biology and Geography.
The certificate records Grade 5, equivalent to a credit, in Literature-in-English and Religious Knowledge, while Economics carries Grade 3, equivalent to good.
The grades lead critics to question how the holder could meet the admission requirements for Philosophy at UNN.
To establish whether the certificate is genuine and whether Obi meets the admission requirements applicable at the time, PREMIUM TIMES submits a Freedom of Information request to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The newspaper asks the university to confirm whether its records show that Obi is admitted to study Philosophy with the results contained in the school certificate.
It also asks whether those qualifications satisfy the minimum O’Level requirements for admission into the Philosophy undergraduate programme in 1980.
The request further asks the university to clarify whether any alternative admission pathway, exemption, remedial programme or equivalent qualification enables Obi to gain admission despite the grades in the publicly available result.
PREMIUM TIMES attaches copies of the WAEC certificate and the UNN degree certificate attributed to Obi to facilitate verification.
In its response, the university’s registrar’s office confirms that Obi is duly admitted to study Philosophy in 1980. The response dated August 26 and signed by Eseme Obiora, a senior deputy registrar, identifies the student as Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi.
Also Read: Arabambi drags UNN to court over Peter Obi’s certificate
UNN states that Obi is admitted by the university authority to study Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences on September 3, 1980.
The university also provides his registration number as 80/26333 and references his admission documentation and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board records.
The confirmation directly contradicts the claim that Obi does not have a genuine academic record at the institution.
UNN also authenticates the degree certificate presented for verification. The university confirms that the Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, with Second Class Honours, Lower Division, dated December 15, 1984, emanates from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
It states that the degree is awarded to Obi by the university’s Senate and identifies the certificate number as D000198.
The confirmation establishes that the degree certificate presented for the fact-check is an authentic document issued by the institution.
The university also addresses the central question surrounding Obi’s O’Level qualifications. According to UNN, the qualifications Obi presents meet the requirements prescribed by the University Entrance Board at the time of his admission.
The university specifically states that there are 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,” the university says. It adds that Obi is “qualified ab initio,” meaning he meets the relevant qualification requirements from the outset.
UNN further explains that Obi’s admission is based on a combination of two examination results. The university says he combines the June 1978 WAEC result with another November/December 1978 GCE result.
According to the response, the two results together provide the qualifications required for admission into the Philosophy programme.
“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,” the university says.
This explanation addresses the central argument based solely on the June 1978 WAEC certificate. Despite confirming Obi’s admission and degree, the fact-check identifies an important gap in the university’s response.
UNN indicates that copies of the June and November/December 1978 examination results and other supporting documents are attached to its response.
However, PREMIUM TIMES reports that the referenced annexures do not accompany the letter it receives. The newspaper subsequently makes efforts to obtain the missing November/December 1978 GCE result, which UNN identifies as part of the qualification used for Obi’s admission.
According to the report, repeated emails and phone calls to the university registrar’s office do not initially produce the missing documents.
The registrar, Ngozi Nnebedum, later answers a call and expresses surprise that the annexures are missing, promising to resend them. However, PREMIUM TIMES says the documents are not subsequently received and further calls go unanswered.
As a result, the newspaper says it cannot independently examine the details of Obi’s November/December 1978 GCE result.
Another element of the controversy involves the names appearing on Obi’s academic documents. The WAEC certificate referenced in the report bears the name Obi Gregory Onwubuasi, while the UNN records identify him as Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi.
Questions over differences in the names have also circulated alongside the claims about his degree. However, UNN’s official response identifies the student admitted to the university as Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi and confirms that the degree certificate belongs to him.
The university’s authentication therefore provides institutional confirmation linking the academic record to the individual identified as Peter Obi.
Based on the records supplied by UNN, the claim that Peter Obi is parading a fake university degree certificate is false.
The university confirms that Obi is admitted to study Philosophy in 1980 and subsequently receives a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy with Second Class Honours, Lower Division, in 1984.
UNN also authenticates the certificate and confirms that his O’Level qualifications meet the admission requirements applicable at the time.
The university explains that Obi combines his June 1978 WAEC result with a November/December 1978 GCE result to meet the requirements for admission.
However, the fact-check notes that the details of the second examination result remain unavailable to PREMIUM TIMES because the university does not provide the annexure referenced in its response.
Obi subsequently welcomes public scrutiny of his academic credentials in a social media post. He urges other presidential candidates to similarly subject their academic records to examination by interested members of the public.
The development keeps the issue in the public domain even after the university provides official confirmation of the authenticity of Obi’s degree and his admission to the institution.
Overall, the available university records support the authenticity of Peter Obi’s UNN degree and contradict the claim that the certificate he presents is fake.
Premium Times
