Bayo Onanuga Dismisses Peter Obi’s Single-Term Pledge as Political Inconsistency

 

The Nigerian Presidency has issued a sharp rebuttal to the former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, following his public declaration that he would serve only a single four-year term if elected to the nation’s highest office. In a statement that has reignited the verbal sparring between the current administration and the opposition leader, the Presidency characterized Obi’s political history as a series of broken promises and shifting loyalties, suggesting that his latest pledge carries little weight with the Nigerian electorate.

The controversy began when a viral teaser for an interview scheduled to air on News Central TV showed the former Anambra State governor making an emphatic vow regarding his tenure. In the clip, Obi asserted that he would not remain in office for a day longer than four years, famously stating he would not seek a second term “even with a gun to my head.” The remark was clearly intended to present Obi as a selfless leader focused on transitional governance rather than personal power, but it quickly drew the ire of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Reacting via a social media post on Thursday, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dismissed the claim with significant skepticism. Onanuga argued that Obi’s political trajectory provides a clear roadmap of inconsistency that contradicts his current public posturing. “If you believe Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term as president, you’ll believe anything,” Onanuga wrote, setting the tone for a detailed critique of the politician’s past decisions.

The Presidency’s critique centered largely on Obi’s historical relationship with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the party under which he rose to prominence as the Governor of Anambra State. Onanuga reminded the public that while Obi was in office, he had repeatedly pledged his eternal loyalty to the party, which was founded on the principles of the late Igbo leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Despite these public vows, Obi eventually defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shortly after his governorship ended, a move that critics at the time labeled as a betrayal of his political foundation.

“Peter Obi’s pledges have always been short-lived,” Onanuga stated. “He ultimately abandoned APGA for the PDP, and since then, he has drifted from one political platform to another—a political rolling stone. By his own actions, Peter Obi has shown that his word cannot be trusted. His promises are as fleeting as his political allegiances.”

This narrative of political instability has been a recurring theme in the APC’s messaging against Obi. Since leaving the PDP—where he served as the vice-presidential running mate to Atiku Abubakar in 2019—Obi moved to the Labour Party, where he led the "Obidient" movement during the 2023 general elections. In that contest, he finished in third place, trailing behind President Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar. However, his movement within the political landscape did not stop there. In a move that surprised many analysts, Obi recently exited the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition to join the newly formed Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as the primary vehicle for his 2027 ambitions.

The timing of Obi’s single-term pledge is particularly strategic as the nation begins to look toward the 2027 presidential election, which is officially scheduled to take place on January 16, 2027. By offering a single-term limit, Obi appears to be appealing to voters who are weary of career politicians and those who believe a shorter, more concentrated reformist tenure is what the country requires. However, the Presidency argues that this is merely another "short-lived" promise designed to garner votes rather than a sincere governing philosophy.

The debate over political "trust" and "consistency" is likely to become a cornerstone of the upcoming campaign cycle. Supporters of Peter Obi argue that his movements between parties are a reflection of a broken political system rather than a lack of personal integrity. They maintain that his core message of fiscal discipline and accountability has remained constant, regardless of the logo on his campaign posters. On the other hand, the Presidency’s latest offensive suggests that the APC intends to frame Obi as an opportunist who lacks a stable ideological home.

As the political atmosphere heats up ahead of the 2027 polls, the exchange between Onanuga and Obi highlights the deep-seated divisions within the Nigerian political elite. While the Presidency focuses on the "rolling stone" nature of Obi’s career, the opposition leader continues to position himself as an outsider ready to disrupt the status quo. With the election less than a year away, the reliability of a candidate's word is set to be a major point of contention for millions of Nigerians who are still grappling with the economic consequences of recent macroeconomic reforms. Whether the electorate views Obi as a visionary willing to step down after four years or a politician whose promises are "fleeting" remains to be seen.