Did Peter Obi Actually Reject An Oil Well Gift in 2015?
On July 5, 2025, a verified X user claimed that the former governor of Anambra state and the 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, rejected an oil well. The post is captioned “How many politicians will reject an oil well? Peter Obi rejected ! How can I hate this man? Never.”
This claim garnered over 55,000 views and about 4,100 replies, reposts, quotes, likes and bookmarks as of when this report was published. @Adewale02390107 in the comment section wrote “Tinubu wasn't offered and he doesn't have one.” while @adulawoglory said “Na oil well now is no longer plot of Land”.
Similar claims were found here, here and here.
VERIFICATION
In 2015, Obi was reportedly approached to bid for one of Nigeria’s marginal oil fields. He turned it down, saying he preferred to stick to his areas of expertise, banking and trade.
News Express was quoted saying, “Obi was approached by one of the key players in the auctioning of the marginal fields and offered the opportunity to bid but turned it down on the spot, saying that he did not like getting involved in unfamiliar businesses.”
It should be noted that Obi was invited to join the bidding process, not that he was gifted with an oil well and he rejected it. Meanwhile, the oil well bid process is a long process, the bid Obi was approached with, opened in November 2013 when he (Obi) was still the governor of Anambra State. If he put in his bid and had won, Obi would still have had to pay the asking price (7-10 million dollars) for the oil well or the bid would be cancelled.
The process for oil bid rounds in Nigeria is explained here.
Source: Stren & Blan Partners
CONCLUSION
The claim that Peter Obi rejected an oil well is MISLEADING, this involved a bidding process, not an outright gift as commonly reported or sensationalised in social media circles.
