Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) chieftain and former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, has reaffirmed his commitment to serving only one term of four years if elected president in the 2027 general election.
The 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate made the declaration in an interview with News Central Television, insisting that he would not remain in office beyond a single term under any circumstance.
“I want to be a one-term president because of stability. I would not stay a day longer than four years, even with a gun to my head,” Obi said.
He also knocked the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu, citing rising borrowing levels and the increasing cost of living across the country.
According to Obi, Nigeria is experiencing one of its most difficult economic and social periods.
Obi came third in the 2023 presidential election behind former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Tinubu, who emerged winner of the poll.
Since joining the opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress in June 2025, Obi has consistently maintained that he would serve only one term if elected president.
During a Twitter Space hosted by Parallel Facts on June 30, 2025, Obi argued that any southern candidate elected president in 2027 should leave office by May 28, 2031, in line with what he described as Nigeria’s unwritten zoning and power-sharing arrangement.
According to him, the rotational system between the North and South remains essential for national unity and political stability.
Obi said the principle was one he had consistently supported throughout his political career.
In a post shared on his official X account in August 2025, the former presidential candidate defended his one-term position, saying effective leadership should be measured by impact and achievements rather than the number of years spent in office.
Referencing global leaders, Obi cited former U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, as well as former South African President Nelson Mandela, as examples of leaders whose legacies endured despite short periods in office.
“His decision was a deliberate act of leadership — a statement that power must serve the people, not the self,” Obi said of Mandela’s decision to serve only one term.
He further argued that prolonged stay in power had negatively affected governance in several African countries.
Obi and former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso reportedly left the ADC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress on May 3.
Days later, the NDC announced that its presidential ticket for the 2027 election would be zoned to Southern Nigeria, the region Obi comes from.
The motion for zoning the ticket to the South was moved at the party’s convention in Abuja by Afam Victor Ogene and seconded by Seyi Sowunmi.
Credit: The Sun