Fact-Check: Peter Obi’s Claim That Anambra Leads Nigeria in Nursing and Midwifery Schools Is False

Claim: Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, claims that Anambra State has the highest number of nursing and midwifery schools in Nigeria.

Verdict: False

Full Text

On 24 August 2026, during the Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi claimed that Anambra has the highest number of nursing and midwifery schools in Nigeria.

He made the claim during a panel discussion in response to the statement about doctors being on strike for 13 months while he was the governor of Anambra State.

Obi, in response to the statement, said, “That means something is missing because after 13 months we were still alive. Okay? And they were abstract. Today, God has blessed, we have the highest number of schools of nursing, midwifery, and any other state.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lifted campaign activities for the 2027 general election on 19th August 2026. This step allows party candidates to canvass for support; as such, they were given a platform at the ongoing Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) conference to speak to delegates.

At such fora, politicians often make claims that seem too good to be true; therefore, NDRFactcheck monitored the event and investigated potential claims. We found this claim and subjected it to verification.

Verification

According to the latest report by the Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) on its website, Enugu State has the highest number of colleges of nursing and midwifery, followed by Edo (17) and Imo and Kaduna States, which are third with 16 each.

Kano and Ogun States have 15 nursing schools each, while Abia and Anambra States have 14 accredited schools.

In another supporting statistic by StatiSense on the number of approved nursing and midwifery schools by state, Edo and Kaduna States have the highest number of colleges of nursing and midwifery, with 18, followed by Enugu (17); Delta, Imo, and Kano, which are third with 16 each; and Anambra and Abia having 13.

Conclusion

Our findings show that available data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria do not support Peter Obi’s claim that Anambra State has the highest number of nursing and midwifery schools in Nigeria; the claim is false.

Please follow and like us: