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No, Peter Obi did not say Yoruba Muslims are not practising ‘real Islam’

Nurudeen Akewushola
Nurudeen Akewushola
Reading Time: 2 min.
File Photo: Peter Obi
File Photo: Peter Obi

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A FLYER featuring Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has circulated on social media with a claim that he said Yoruba Muslims are not practising “real Islam.”

The flyer, which used a screenshot from Obi’s interview on Arise Television, attributed the following statement to him:

“The Yorubas Muslims are not practicing real Islam. Real Islam is being practiced only in the North, that’s why the president should do Sallah in Sokoto or Kano.”

An X user, Bayo Bilisi (Back Up), shared the flyer with the caption:

“The Yorubas Muslims are not practicing real Islam. Real Islam is being practiced only in the North, that’s why the president should do Sallah in Sokoto or Kano.”

The post, published on 10 September 2026, had generated over 500 likes, 140 reposts and 89 comments as of September 11, 2026.

The flyer suggests that Obi made the remarks during an interview aired by Arise Television.

CLAIM

Peter Obi said Yoruba Muslims are not practising “real Islam” and that real Islam is practised only in northern Nigeria.

FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.

The FactCheckHub reviewed the full interview Obi granted Arise Television, from which the screenshot used in the viral flyer was taken.

In the full interview, which lasted less than 50 minutes, Obi did not say that Yoruba Muslims were not practising real Islam. He also did not state that real Islam was practised only in northern Nigeria.

The viral flyer appears to have misrepresented comments Obi made about how he would spend the Sallah holiday if elected president.

During the interview, Obi criticised President Bola Tinubu for spending the Sallah holiday in Lagos. He said that, if elected president, he would travel to northern Nigeria and use the occasion to engage with religious and traditional leaders.

“Sallah and everything, he (Tinubu) spends in Lagos. A Muslim! I will go to Sokoto and spend the Sallah with the Sultan and bring everybody together and we will discuss the future. I will go to Kano,” Obi said.

This was the Islam-related comment made by Obi during the interview.

At no point did he compare Yoruba Muslims with Muslims in northern Nigeria or suggest that Yoruba Muslims were not practising Islam properly.

The claim attached to the screenshot therefore misrepresents Obi’s comments by adding statements that he did not make during the Arise Television interview.

VERDICT

The claim that Peter Obi said Yoruba Muslims are not practising “real Islam” and that real Islam is practised only in northern Nigeria is MISLEADING. A review of his full Arise Television interview shows that he made no such statement. His comments were about his intention to spend Sallah in Sokoto or Kano if elected president.

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Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.

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