Misleading! El-Rufai and Obi met in UK not US

Claim: Facebook users claim that former Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai and former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi met in the United States (US) for a conference.

Verdict: Misleading. El-Rufai and Peter Obi met at the 11th Annual Cambridge Africa Together Conference at St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom (UK), not the US, as claimed. 

Full Text

Former Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai has continued to feature prominently in local news following his recent defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). 

Recently, Mr El-Rufai attended the 11th annual Cambridge Africa Together Conference, which took place between May 9 and 10, 2025. 

The conference, organised by African students in Cambridge, was described as one of the continent’s most significant gatherings. It aimed to reshape common perceptions of African investment trends and critically examine economic power, policy, and political leadership.

This year’s conference, “The Flames of the Big Four, Shining with Many More,”  reportedly attracted over 250 delegates worldwide, particularly from Africa. Although available reports noted that El-Rufai and Peter Obi met at the conference which took place in the United Kingdom (UK), others, like Daily Post and Blueprint, reported that it was held in the United States (US).

On Facebook, Obedient Voice and the Facebloggers stated that the duo met in the US. As of May 16, 2025, the Facebloggers’ posts had 41 shares, 12 comments, and 21 reactions. 

Because of the individuals involved (El-Rufai and Obi) and the possibility of misleading representation, DUBAWA decided to verify the location.

Verification

DUBAWA conducted a Google search on St John’s College, University of Cambridge, where the conference was held. The location found was “St John’s College, St John’s St, Cambridge CB2 1TP, United Kingdom.”

The University of Cambridge is located in Cambridgeshire, England, about 80 kilometres north of London.

A look at the conference programme showed that Peter Obi was the Speaker during a fireside chat titled “The Making of a Future President” held at the Palmerston Room in St John’s College. 

At the same time, El-Rufai spoke alongside Dambazau in a panel session on Saturday, May 10, titled “The guns behind governance and regional security,” held at the Boys Smith Room in St John’s College.

On his X handle, Peter Obi stated he was attending a conference at St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.

Although El-Rufai did not directly post on his social media accounts about speaking at the conference, DUBAWA noted that there were various tags from attendees of the conference that El-Rufai reposted to confirm his presence at the event.

There were also news reports about the two political leaders meeting at the school.

Conclusion

Although the reports that El-Rufai and Peter Obi met at a conference recently are true, the conference was held in England, which is in the UK, not the US.