Presidency Blasts Peter Obi Over One-Term Pledge, Cites Broken Vows

By Samuel Akpan

The Presidency has launched a scathing attack on former presidential candidate Peter Obi, dismissing his fresh vow to serve only a single four-year term in office as hollow and untrustworthy, pointing to a long pattern of abandoned political commitments that undermine his credibility.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the remarks in a post on X, responding directly to Obi’s recent appearance on News Central Television.

During the interview, the former Anambra governor reiterated his intention to limit himself to one term for the sake of national stability.

“I want to be a one-term president because of stability. I would not stay a day longer than four years,” he declared.

Obi used the platform to level harsh criticism at the Tinubu administration, accusing it of deepening poverty, worsening insecurity and mishandling food security.

He claimed that in just two years, the government had borrowed more than all previous administrations combined, while Nigeria had slipped into the position of the world’s hungriest country.

He painted a picture of a detached presidency, saying a Nigerian leader could remain comfortably in Abuja as 200 people are killed in places like Jos, Niger or Benue without decisive intervention.

Obi further alleged that the administration had failed across the board, noting ironically that war-ravaged Ukraine was donating grain to Nigeria while local farmers were neglected.

Instead of supporting them during crises, he charged, authorities chose to import food in ways that effectively “killed all the farmers.”

Onanuga countered that Obi’s promise should not be taken seriously, given his history of shifting allegiances and broken pledges.

He recalled how, as governor of Anambra State under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), he had sworn unwavering loyalty to the party.

The former governor even placed himself under a self-curse and gave his solemn word to the Ikemba—late Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu—vowing fidelity to APGA even on the leader’s deathbed.

Yet, Onanuga noted, Obi eventually abandoned the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and has since moved from one political platform to another.

“If you believe Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term as president, you’ll believe anything,” the presidential aide wrote.

Onanuga dismissed the NDC chieftain as a “political rolling stone,” asserting that Obi’s track record of shifting allegiances suggests his pledges are as unstable as his political affiliations.