Nigerian Presidential Hopeful Peter Obi Did Not Say He Would Visit Every Secondary School If Elected

18 August 2026
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Catherine Adeniyi

Nigerian presidential hopeful Peter Obi did not say he would visit every secondary school if elected

IN SHORT: Social media posts claim Peter Obi vowed to visit every secondary school in the country if elected president in the January 2027 general elections. But the claim misrepresents remarks he made about visiting schools while governor of Anambra state.

On 4 August 2026, Nigerian presidential hopeful Peter Obi spoke at Babcock University in Ogun state, southwestern Nigeria.

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During the event, Obi said that while governor of Anambra state, he had visited every secondary school in the state.

But several Facebook posts sharing clips from the event claim he went further, saying he "will visit every secondary school in Nigeria as president".

Obi governed Anambra from 2006 to 2014 and is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the country's January 2027 election.

One such post quotes Obi as saying: "I visited every Secondary School in Anambra as Governor, I will visit every Secondary school in Nigeria as President."

The same claim appears here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)

But did Obi make this pledge? We checked.

No credible evidence for claim

Africa Check reviewed the video of Obi speaking. In it, he spoke about the importance of political leaders visiting schools and said he had visited every secondary school in Anambra while governor. But he did not say he would visit every secondary school in Nigeria if elected president.

We also found and reviewed a longer version of the video. It contains no such pledge.

Obi posted photos from the event on his verified X account, but did not make the statement attributed to him there either. We also found no credible Nigerian media reports quoting Obi as making the pledge.

The social media posts therefore attribute a statement to Obi that he did not make at the event.

As the 2027 election draws closer, fabricated or altered quotes can mislead voters about candidates' promises and positions.

Other instances of the false claim appeared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. X @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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