2027: Release my academic records to public, Obi tells UNN, others

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has challenged the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, and other institutions he attended to make his academic records public.

Obi made the call in a video on Tuesday, amid a legal dispute over the alleged refusal of the university to release documents relating to his academic records.

He urged UNN to publish his admission documents, academic results from his first year through graduation and other records contained in his file.

The former Anambra State governor also extended the request to international institutions where he undertook programmes, including Lagos Business School, London School of Economics, Columbia Business School, Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Business School, Oxford and Cambridge.

Obi said the records should be made available for public scrutiny, arguing that people seeking public office should be prepared to have their backgrounds thoroughly examined.

He said, “I was informed that somebody wants to know about my certificate here at University of Nigeria Nsukka. He wants to know how I got admission.

“I’m actually going to tweet to say, please, I’m begging University of Nigeria Nsukka to make available every document that is in my file, or how I was admitted in the university, all my results from year one to final year.”

Obi said public figures must be willing to subject themselves to scrutiny and demonstrate the standards expected of leaders.

“If you will seek a public life, you should subject yourself to public scrutiny because you’re a leader. You must exemplify the values that make the society work, especially for the younger ones,” he said.

The NDC candidate also challenged anyone with information about his records in Nigeria or abroad to make such information public.

“If I have an FBI file which I’m not aware of, or files in another country, this is time for them to bring it to the public,” he added.

Asked whether other presidential candidates should also make their records public, Obi responded in the affirmative.

He said such scrutiny would give candidates the opportunity to explain any wrongdoing in their past and demonstrate that they had changed.

“Yes, because we want to know if there’s any place that I’ve done wrong, I’ll be the one to come and explain to people: I did this wrong yesterday, but I’ve changed.

“I committed this offence, but I’ve changed. Or if I’ve gone to jail and served my time, please forgive me,” Obi said.

Obi’s comments came days after a suspended Labour Party member, Abayomi Arabambi, approached the Federal High Court in Abuja over UNN’s alleged refusal to release the presidential candidate’s academic records.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2144/2026, was filed on September 9 by Arabambi’s lawyer, Anderson Asemota.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNN and the university were listed as the first and second respondents.

Arabambi is asking the court to compel the institution to provide certified copies of documents relating to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy allegedly awarded to Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi in 1984.

According to the originating motion and supporting affidavit, Arabambi requested on July 16 a Certified True Copy of Certificate Number D000198, said to have been issued in respect of Obi.

He also sought copies of the academic records and other official documents on which the alleged degree and certificate were based.

The applicant said the request was made under the Freedom of Information Act 2011 and received by the respondents on August 6.

He alleged that UNN failed to provide the documents within the period prescribed by the law and did not issue a written notice of refusal stating the specific provision of the Act relied upon to deny access.

Arabambi subsequently sent a reminder on August 31, which was reportedly received on September 1.

He is seeking 19 reliefs, including an order of mandamus compelling the respondents to respond to his Freedom of Information request in accordance with the law.

He is also asking the court to compel UNN to provide a Certified True Copy of Certificate Number D000198, if the certificate exists in its custody, possession or control.

Other documents sought include academic records, graduation and degree-award records, certificate-register entries, Senate or academic approval records and other official documents relating to the alleged degree.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of Igbo Agenda Dialogue and Champion Newspapers Award winner, Chief Dr. Chekwas Okorie, has appealed to freedom fighters and Biafran agitators at home and abroad to review their strategy and deploy their voting strength in the 2027 general elections as a tool to secure the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

In a special appeal to Igbos, Chief Okorie stated unequivocally that all persons pushed by the painful situation in Nigeria to demand self-determination or outright exit for a separate State of Biafra are within their inalienable rights.

He alleged that President Bola Tinubu himself had in the past publicly stated that he did not believe in one Nigeria, a statement widely published, yet he later emerged as President without being restrained for disowning Nigeria.

Chief Okorie said the Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who led Biafran Armed Forces during the 1967-1970 war, was granted presidential pardon in 1982 by President Shehu Shagari, returned from self-exile and lived among his people until his death in 2011.

He noted that the renewed struggle for Biafra has been prosecuted in different ways by multiple groups since 1999 when MASSOB emerged, and later in 2012 when IPOB took centre stage under Kanu.

According to him, many other groups have sprung up with similar objectives over the last 27 years, with attendant collateral damage and economic costs that should not be belabored.

Chief Okorie said the time has come to review the strategy, tactics and methodology for seeking self-determination, freedom and a place of pride for Ndigbo in Nigeria.

He cited the joint initiative by leaders of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, who met on Monday, September 14, 2026, to formulate an exit plan from the United Kingdom, noting that geopolitical zones in Nigeria may take similar concerted initiatives without violence.

The IAD Chairman observed that there are over 100 active groups agitating for separation globally, with only a few having the chance of a referendum.

He recalled that Mazi Kanu was abducted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, on June 19, 2021, and flown to Nigeria on June 27, 2021.

Chief Okorie described Kanu’s extraordinary rendition from Kenya and his unending quest for justice in Nigerian courts as infuriating and provocative to a cross section of Igbos at home and abroad.

He said prominent Igbo leaders, including himself and other Nigerian statesmen, have appealed to authorities to apply a political solution and release Kanu and other Igbo political prisoners in the interest of national reconciliation, but regretted that such appeals were treated with contempt.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, according to Okorie, captured the feeling of Ndigbo when he stated that it is the Igbo people that are in prison as long as Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains in detention.

Chief Okorie also disclosed that efforts by the late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu as Ohanaeze President General to lead a delegation to President Tinubu for a political resolution were rebuffed without a reply, adding that the Azuta-Mbata-led Ohanaeze has also not been received on the matter.

In his appeal ahead of the 2027 polls, Okorie said God has given Ndigbo a large population and outstanding geographical spread, noting there is no state where Igbos cannot muster at least 25 percent of the voting population.

He added that Igbos constitute the second largest ethnic population in 31 states and the FCT, and 99 percent in the Southeast, arguing that population and spread remain the most potent force for political power in Nigeria.

He therefore appealed to Ndigbo of voting age to deploy this advantage to make a resounding political statement and secure the unconditional release of Kanu without having to kow-tow to anyone who would ridicule them.