Falana challenges Peter Obi’s one-term Promise, asks, “what do you want to do there?”

Senior Advocate of Nigeria and prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has dismissed Labour Party presidential hopeful Peter Obi’s promise to serve only a single term if elected in 2027, insisting that pledging a limited tenure is not in itself a convincing vision for national transformation.

Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, recently reaffirmed his commitment to serving just four years if given the mandate to lead the country in 2027. He made the pledge during a weekend engagement, invoking the legacies of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Nelson Mandela as evidence that transformational leadership doesn’t require a full eight years.

However, speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Monday, Falana challenged the substance behind such a vow, urging Nigerians to look beyond duration and demand concrete plans from candidates.

“Another problem confronting Nigeria as a nation, it is not just enough to say I will be in power for four years. I will be in power for eight years, what do you want to do there?” Falana queried.

He further called on the Federal Government to deepen its focus on inclusive governance, warning against unilateral policymaking that alienates the populace.

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“As for those who are in power, you have a greater responsibility to concentrate on governance and consult with the people with respect to your policies, so that nobody wakes up one day and say I am going to rename the streets,” he added.

Meanwhile, Obi’s single-term declaration also drew criticism from the presidency. In a strongly worded statement titled “Peter Obi and His Wrong Examples,” the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused the former Anambra State governor of distorting history to suit his political ambitions.

Onanuga argued that Obi’s attempt to draw parallels between himself and iconic world leaders lacked both historical accuracy and contextual relevance.

As the 2027 political atmosphere gradually builds momentum, reactions to Obi’s pledge signal a growing demand for substance over symbolism in Nigeria’s leadership discourse.

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