Claim: A Facebook user claimed that Peter Obi had been invited to Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
Verdict: False! Neither Peter Obi nor any African leader was invited to or attended the swearing-in ceremony in the US. Reports reveal that the world leaders invited were from Italy, China, and Argentina.
Full Text
On Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States after winning the electoral college and popular votes last November.
The inauguration witnessed the attendance of various top brass personalities across diverse sectors, including former presidents of the United States, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of big technological companies (including X, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Uber), top government officials, foreign leaders and internet personalities.
Amidst this widely celebrated inauguration, Facebook user Njiko Igbotv, in a post on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, claimed that former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi was invited to President Trump’s inauguration in the US.
“Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of Nigeria’s Labour Party, received an invitation to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States. However, Peter Obi will not be attending the inauguration due to pressing national matters. Instead, Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, the National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Labour Party, is representing him and the Labour Party at the event,” parts of the post read.
Available data shows that as of Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, the post had amassed about 68 reactions, 15 comments, and one repost.
In the comment section, other Facebook users believed the post.
“This is the kind of a leader that Nigeria needs at this time.” Ufoo Joseph appraised.
Another user, Sunday Ignatuis, wrote, “Congratulations, your Excellency.”
Meanwhile, King Kristal commented, “Obi is a big branch.”
Due to the post’s political nature, DUBAWA decided to verify it.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a Google search to identify individuals invited to Trump’s inauguration and came across various publications by media outlets.
According to a Time Magazine report, the inauguration was held at the US Capitol Rotunda due to freezing weather. It was attended by prominent figures such as Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, political allies, etc with no mention of any African leader’s participation in the event.
According to a Laist report on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, world leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and right-wing leaders including Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, amongst others, attended the inauguration ceremony.
Nevertheless, the only two guests from Africa were William Kumuyi and Nathaniel Bassey, who performed at the US inauguration prayer breakfast, which is part of the swearing-in ceremony rites.
Furthermore, a keyword search of Mr Obi attending the event held in the US brought no result to validate the assertion.
Meanwhile, DUBAWA checked the former Labour presidential candidate’s X handle but found no post confirming his attendance. Rather, a congratulatory message was posted on his timeline on the day of the occasion with no mention of his physical attendance.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings indicate no names of any African head of state were included in President Trump’s inauguration guest list. Meanwhile, Mr Obi did not attend the ceremony as claimed on Facebook.