One-term Presidency Is Political Strategy: Arewa Forum Rejects Obi’s Pledge
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.
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.”
