The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has reacted to Peter Obi’s promise that if he becomes president, he will only serve one term of four years.
In an interview with Trust TV from 22.52, ACF spokesperson, Prof. Tukur Mohammed-Baba, said Obi’s pledge is not something Nigerians can hold him to legally. He explained that the Constitution does not require power to shift between the North and South, nor does it limit a president to just one term unless they decide not to run again.
“This so-called shifting of power from the North to the South is not a constitutional provision,” he said. “If I say I will rule once and I change my mind, it’s not a constitutional requirement. What people are looking for is the entrenchment of the principle of good governance.”
Mohammed-Baba pointed out that Obi is not the first to make such a promise. He recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari said the same thing before the 2015 election but later sought a second term.
“Chief Obi can make the promises but you cannot take him to court, you cannot hold him to that,” he stressed.
He also questioned whether the promise was even good for the country. “Suppose he does a very good job — is he denying Nigerians a chance to vote for him again if they think he has done well?” he asked.
Mohammed-Baba concluded by calling the one-term pledge “unnecessary” and warned it might be just another political trick aimed at winning public sympathy.
