The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has rejected the promise by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to serve for one term if elected in 2027.
The prominent northern group described Obi’s promise as a political strategy.
Naijaonpoint recalls that Peter Obi, a former Anambra State Governor, had vowed to serve for only four years if elected as President in 2027.
In a statement o journalists on Sunday, the former governor said that if elected the president of the nation, that his longstanding pledge to serve only one term of four years would be eventful.
Obi declared that the vow was “sacrosanct,” reiterating his commitment to purposeful leadership over prolonged rule.
He cited global figures such as Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Nelson Mandela, who proved the possibility of great leadership in a single tenure.
Obi noted that great leadership was not measured by the number of years in office, but by the quality and impact of service.
But reacting to Obi’s statement, ACF said the presidential aspirant cannot be held to it should he decide to do another term because the Nigerian Constitution provides for him to contest two terms.
Speaking to Leadership, spokesperson for the ACF, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, cited previous leaders, like President Muhammadu Buhari, who pledged to do one term but eventually failed to keep to such promise.
Muhammad-Baba said Obi’s promise is a campaign strategy, adding that he cannot be held to it should he decide to do another term as the constitution allows it.
He 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.”
“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 added.
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