Old video recirculated to portray Olubadan endorsing  Peter Obi

Claim: An X user shared a video claiming the Olubadan of Ibadan declared Peter Obi the new president of Nigeria. 

Verdict: Misleading! The Nigerian monarch did not make such a pronouncement. Although the king was present at the gathering, a prominent academic, Adeyemi, made the statement. 

Full Text 

On September 14, 2025, media outlets in Nigeria reported that the Labour Party (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, visited the Olubadan-designate, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. 

A day later, on Sept.15, 2025, a video was shared on X, capturing what transpired during the visit. The video shows the former presidential candidate exchanging pleasantries with other dignitaries as they enter a room. 

An X user, @iprincesaviour, who shared the video, wrote along with it, “The historic moment! Olubadan of Ibadan, Kabiyesi Oba Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja, looked at H.E. Peter Obi and declared, ‘I have seen the president.’”

As of Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, the post had generated about 176,000 views, 1,500 reposts, and 400 bookmarks. 

DUBAWA discovered that most X users in the comment section lauded the company of the former Anambra State governor and the Ibadan monarch. Meanwhile, a particular X user quickly stated that Rashidi did not make the alleged statement. 

An X user, @Onoykpo, appeared to believe the post, saying that the words are real foresight. “As Baba congratulates Peter Obi, let me say a big congratulations to Nigerians in advance, Peter Obi is coming,” he said. 

Another user, @AyodejiAustin9, who also believed the claim, wrote, “if it is God’s willing, so be it.”

However, @Kdougdlyrics contradicted the claim, writing, “That was not Olubadan’s speech but the professor’s.”

The conflicting comments and the claim’s tendency to misform prompted DUBAWA to verify and straighten the records. 

Verification 

While examining the clip, we observed that the individual who spoke in the video was Adeyemi Aderibigbe, not the Oba Olubadan-elect, Rashidi, as claimed. 

We heard Adeyemi mention his name before making the statement in the clip. 

Born in 1925, Adeyemi is a prince from Osun State who worked with several governments at the top level, including General Gowon’s military regime and President Olusegun Obasanjo’s civilian administration.

We took keyframes showing Adeyemi and subjected them to Google Reverse Image Search. PM Parrot, who once described the academic as one of the oldest practising journalists in Nigeria, featured his image in its 2020 publication. The image bears an unmistakable resemblance to the person in the X video.  

When we compared the images of the Olubadan and Adeyemi, we observed that the professor keeps a whitish beard, which the former does not have.  

We conducted several keyword searches but found no credible outlets reporting supporting information that the new Olubadan made the statement. 

Obi told newsmen that his visit was to congratulate Rashidi as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland.

Conclusion 

DUBAWA’s findings reveal that the narrative that the Nigerian monarch has endorsed Peter Obi as the country’s new president is untrue.