₦airaland Forum

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said the promise by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to serve for one term if elected in 2027 is a political strategy.

ACF added that Obi cannot be held to it should he decide to do another term because the Nigerian Constitution provides for him to contest two terms.

The spokesperson for the ACF, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, cited previous leaders, like President Muhammadu Buhari, who pledged to do one term but eventually contested two-terms.

Obi, yesterday, reiterated his vow to serve for a one-term of four years, adding that his word is his bond.

He said history had shown that leaders who serve shorter terms in office tend to bequeath positive legacies than those who stay longer.

Obi was reacting to scepticisms that have trailed an earlier declaration to serve for one term.

Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Soludo, over the weekend, said those promising to do one-term in office need psychological evaluation.

Obi’s one-term vow was against the backdrop of the power rotation intrigue between the North and South geo-political regions of Nigeria.

After President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure as a northerner, the presidency shifted to the South under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu in 2023.

The South is expected to retain the position for eight years before power shifts to the North in 2031, in keeping with the gentleman’s power rotation arrangement.

ACF reacts to Obi’s promise
The ACF spokesperson, Muhammad-Baba, told LEADERSHIP that Obi’s promise is for political strategy, adding that he cannot be held to it should he decide to do another term.

Noting that people confuse constitutional issues with personal desires, Muhammad-Baba, said, “The Constitution only gives one term. But you may seek re-election for another term. It doesn’t say you should seek re-election for a second four-year term. So, in my opinion, politicians in Nigeria have unwittingly changed the rule.

“Thinking that ruling for eight years is constitutional, it is not. There is a clear separation between one term and another. And the first one does not have to guarantee the next one. Ideally, this is the situation.

“If we can recall, Donald Trump of the United States was elected for one term and defeated in his attempt to get a second straight term. But he came back for another term. So there is a clear separation. So in my opinion, by saying he’s going for only one term, he’s not talking of constitutional issues, he is talking about personal desire if, in fact, he can carry it out. But nobody is going to hold him to that promise constitutionally.”

He said if Obi changes his mind to seek reelection nobody is going to compel him to fulfill the promise because it is not constitutional.

“So, in my opinion, saying so is only a campaign strategy to appeal to certain regional blocs and so on.

“But we want to emphasize that it is not a constitutional arrangement and nobody can hold anybody to that kind of promise. In the build up to 2015, if you can remember, there was a time Muhammadu Buhari said he will do one term, in 2019 he came to campaign again, did anybody stop him, of course some people reminded him but that is not a constitutional arrangement, it is not a constitutional requirement it’s not a constitutional provision, so he went on to doing the second consecutive term okay.

“So our position is that it is not necessary to say so because nobody can hold him to that promise since it is not a provision of the constitution once he becomes president, it will be his right to seek a second final term and that is all, and going by historical precedence the most recent one is Buhari he did one term and said he would step down that’s all but he did a second term” he stressed.

We can’t be deceived – Shettima
Also reacting, the president general of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said Obi’s statement was just a way of getting political attention and recognition, stressing that President Tinubu was already doing well and deserved reelection.

“Well, talk is cheap but we cannot be deceived. So far, President Tinubu is doing well and it is proper he is supported to complete the term of the south. You only look for alternatives when what you have is not good enough, but so far, he is trying and deserves our support. So, for Peter Obi to say if he wins, he will only do one term is deceptive and we will not fall for it,” he said.

2027: Obi Can’t Penetrate The North, Tinubu Has Structures – Keyamo
Amid early permutations and combinations ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Festus Keyamo, one of the vocal ministers in the President Bola Tinubu cabinet, has said that opposition leader Peter Obi cannot penetrate northern Nigeria and garner votes like the incumbent.

Keyamo, a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, said Tinubu and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), have political structures in northern Nigeria.

The aviation minister also said the opposition coalition floated on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) platform would not go far.

Keyamo said, “They are going nowhere in terms of demography.

“I like what is happening; they are putting us on our toes; it will make us work harder, but the numbers are not looking good for them.

“This so-called ADC, in 2027, what they are working on is to bring Peter Obi and Atiku (Abubakar) together to join those numbers and beat our over eight million votes.

“Let me tell you why it is wrong. If you make Peter Obi the deputy to Atiku, three demographic factors will deliver Peter Obi in 2023, but the three will collapse.”

Keyamo listed the three factors he felt favoured Obi in 2023. “The other candidates were Muslims, and so there was only one Christian candidate, and the Christians went to one candidate,” he said.

“The South-East felt cheated, so the South-East went to one point because of the Igbo man.

“And the third demographic: the Obidients, young Nigerians who felt angry, wanted a younger person and all of that because the other candidates were older than him (Obi).

“If you put Peter Obi this time as president, he cannot penetrate the north. We have our structures in the north. We have governors and our structures in the north.”

seunmsg:
Beyond the politics, what exactly can any president achieve in four years ? A president gets sworn in on 29th May of the election, he has to set up his government and he’s going to struggle with this for another 3-6 months. Even at that, he inherits a budget he knows absolutely nothing about from the former president and by law, he has to implement it.

Then there are various governors, senators, Reps and powerful political figures with diverse interests to deal with. By the end of the second year, political coalitions start springing up and politics has to take the center stage again. Boom, it’s four years and nothing much has changed.

It took Lee Kuan Yew 31 years to set Singapore on the path of sustained economic development. Paul Kagame has been president of Rwanda for the past 25 years and he’s still president because Rwanda is still not there yet.

So, anyone telling you all he needs to perform magic and turn a big, economically challenged, infrastructurally decayed, ethnically disunited and religiously divided Nigeria to Dubai in four years is a liar. It is the height of political desperation. It’s even more funny because this same guy had 8 years to turn a small, ethnically and religiously homogeneous Anambra around but left the state worse than he met it.

Walai:
Nope, a President that wants to work will simply dismantle the structures holding the country down, retire old corrupt politicians and then install his successor that will carry on with his agenda. Four years is more than enough to achieve it, Jerry Rawlings did it in Ghana remember

benuejosh:
The desperation of this man concerning the Presidency is scary. It can be likened to the desperation of a man who will promise to put only the cap in the cookie.

Fear desperate people seeking power.

Walai:
Nope, a President that wants to work will simply dismantle the structures holding the country down, retire old corrupt politicians and then install his successor that will carry on with his agenda. Four years is more than enough to achieve it, Jerry Rawlings did it in Ghana remember.

helinues:
Even southerners are not buying as usual Lamba from Peter Obi

seunmsg:
Beyond the politics, what exactly can any president achieve in four years ? A president gets sworn in on 29th May of the election, he has to set up his government and he’s going to struggle with this for another 3-6 months. Even at that, he inherits a budget he knows absolutely nothing about from the former president and by law, he has to implement it.

Then there are various governors, senators, Reps and powerful political figures with diverse interests to deal with. By the end of the second year, political coalitions start springing up and politics has to take the center stage again. Boom, it’s four years and nothing much has changed.

It took Lee Kuan Yew 31 years to set Singapore on the path of sustained economic development. Paul Kagame has been president of Rwanda for the past 25 years and he’s still president because Rwanda is still not there yet.

So, anyone telling you all he needs to perform magic and turn a big, economically challenged, infrastructurally decayed, ethnically disunited and religiously divided Nigeria to Dubai in four years is a liar. It is the height of political desperation. It’s even more funny because this same guy had 8 years to turn a small, ethnically and religiously homogeneous Anambra around but left the state worse than he met it.

helinues:
Even southerners are not buying as usual Lamba from Peter Obi

oyeb15:
He will keep d promise. He did not influence d election of his successor which no former governor has ever done till date.

I remember d one that said 'he's in pain'' some years ago.

Obi is an honorable man. He would have been president if he had come from d North.

seunmsg:
Beyond the politics, what exactly can any president achieve in four years ? A president gets sworn in on 29th May of the election, he has to set up his government and he’s going to struggle with this for another 3-6 months. Even at that, he inherits a budget he knows absolutely nothing about from the former president and by law, he has to implement it.

Then there are various governors, senators, Reps and powerful political figures with diverse interests to deal with. By the end of the second year, political coalitions start springing up and politics has to take the center stage again. Boom, it’s four years and nothing much has changed.

It took Lee Kuan Yew 31 years to set Singapore on the path of sustained economic development. Paul Kagame has been president of Rwanda for the past 25 years and he’s still president because Rwanda is still not there yet.

So, anyone telling you all he needs to perform magic and turn a big, economically challenged, infrastructurally decayed, ethnically disunited and religiously divided Nigeria to Dubai in four years is a liar. It is the height of political desperation. It’s even more funny because this same guy had 8 years to turn a small, ethnically and religiously homogeneous Anambra around but left the state worse than he met it.

helinues:
Even southerners are not buying as usual Lamba from Peter Obi