Obi attended the Matchday Six encounter at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, on Sunday, September 27, where Ikorodu City defeated defending champions Enugu Rangers 2-0. Reports confirmed that Obi watched the game from the stands alongside Ikorodu City president, Sanmi Doherty.
During the match, the club's official X account published a message welcoming Obi to the stadium.
The post reportedly read in part: “Welcome to Lagos, @PeterObi,” while noting that Ikorodu City was hosting Rangers in the NPFL Matchday Six fixture. The post was later removed from the club's account.
The deletion triggered reactions online, with some users alleging that the club had been pressured to take down the message.
Reacting to the development, X user Harry Da Diegot, @trigottista, alleged that the club was “forced” to delete the post acknowledging Obi's presence at the game.
He wrote on September 27: “They forced @IkoroduCityFC to delete this tweet acknowledging Peter Obi’s presence at their game against Enugu Rangers.”
However, there is currently no independently established evidence showing that a government, political party or other external authority ordered the club to delete the post.
An official of Ikorodu City FC, Olawale Quadri, later addressed the controversy, saying the club removed the post because it did not want its social media platform to become associated with political activity.
Quadri described Obi's appearance and the social media post as having acquired a political dimension and said the club wanted to remain separate from partisan politics.
“We dissociated ourselves from politics by pulling down the tweet,” Quadri said, according to reports.
He added that the club considered the situation sensitive because of Nigeria's political environment.
The explanation provides a different account from the allegation that the club was forced to remove the post.
Obi's presence at the match itself was not disputed.
The former governor was photographed and filmed watching the encounter from the stands and interacting with supporters. He was also seen with Rangers players after the match.
Ikorodu City produced one of its notable results of the season, defeating the defending champions 2-0. Aderemi Adeoye opened the scoring before Ikechukwu Junior added the second goal in the 63rd minute.
The match also attracted political interest because Obi is preparing for the 2027 presidential election under the New Democratic Congress (NDC).
The incident has opened a debate about whether Nigerian football clubs should publicly acknowledge the attendance of political figures at matches, particularly during an election period.
While some supporters criticised the deletion as unnecessary, the club's explanation indicates that its stated objective was to prevent its official social media platforms from being used in political discussions.
As of the latest reports, there is no confirmed evidence that Ikorodu City FC was compelled by a government or political organisation to delete the post.
What is established is that the club welcomed Obi publicly, subsequently removed the message, and later offered an explanation centred on keeping the club's social media presence away from politics.
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