The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has dismissed the one-term presidency commitment made by presidential candidate Peter Obi, describing it as unnecessary and potentially harmful to Nigeria’s democratic process. The forum also issued a critical assessment of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying its performance on security and the economy has fallen short of public expectations.
Obi, who is expected to contest the 2027 presidential election under the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), has repeatedly stated that he would serve only a single four-year term if elected. He has also maintained that such a period would be sufficient to implement reforms, while pledging to hand over power to the North after completing his tenure.
In response, ACF National Secretary Tukur Baba rejected the proposal, arguing that it has no constitutional or democratic basis.
According to him, “such a promise is totally unnecessary, even as a campaign material, it is still very unnecessary.”
He stressed that the idea of zoning or pre-determined power rotation is not grounded in Nigeria’s constitutional framework. “Firstly, such a power shift is not a constitutional provision. It is a matter for political parties to decide. Another leading presidential candidate had mentioned that and that is not correct,” he said.
Baba warned that structuring political campaigns around regional power transfer could deepen divisions in an already diverse country. “Secondly, it is very undemocratic, we cannot be practicing democracy and are putting all kinds of road blocks. That is not democracy,” he stated.
He further argued that normalising rotational pledges could open the door to more complex identity-based political demands. “Thirdly, when you are rotating power from one geo-political zone to another, tomorrow, it may become a religious affair, they will come out and say it is time for so so religion,” he said.
Nigeria’s diversity, he noted, makes such arrangements risky. “We have at least four hundred ethnic groups in this country and three major religious groups. The more we stick to the power shift, the more we embrace division among us,” Baba added.
He also questioned the logic of a self-imposed one-term limit, arguing it could undermine performance in office. “Why will Peter Obi make such a promise? Supposing he becomes the president of Nigeria and performs excellently well in his first tenure, would it be fair for Nigerians, North or South, men or women to say Obi will not go again because he made promises even though he is good?” he asked.
Baba insisted that leadership should be assessed based on results rather than pre-election commitments. “By him promising one term means he is likely not going to do his best. He is being unfair to the electorates. All we need in this country is just good governance,” he said.
He outlined governance priorities as accountability, welfare, and security. “We want accountability, fair representation and good welfare of the citizens. Welfare includes security, school, health and anti-corruption drives,” he stated.
The ACF also clarified that it does not endorse any presidential candidate. “The ACF has no tradition of coming out to support or oppose any candidate or political parties in the country openly,” Baba said. “Rather, our job is to analyze and at the end of the day, allow the electorates to decide.”
Turning to the current administration, the forum delivered a sharp critique of President Bola Tinubu’s performance, particularly on insecurity and economic conditions.
Baba described the situation as worsening despite government interventions. “If President Tinubu is doing well, the impact would have been felt but the issue has continued to expand until the Americans came recently,” he said, referring to external involvement in security cooperation.
He added that insecurity has spread across multiple regions, with little sign of containment. “The level of killings, kidnapping and other activities of bandits and terrorists have continued to spread across the nation,” he said.
On governance decisions, Baba questioned the effectiveness of security reforms and leadership directives. “Tinubu reshuffled security architecture yet no results,” he stated. “Has he ever ordered any of the security chiefs ‘bring me the head of so so bandit or terrorist dead or alive?’”
He also criticised economic hardship and rising costs of living. “Prices of things are going up yet we have taxes everywhere,” he said, adding that even small consumer goods are affected by taxation.
Baba further raised concerns over infrastructure delivery and public debt. “The Lagos-Calabar highway, we don’t know what is happening there… Tinubu and his group… are sabotaging the principles of democracy today,” he said.
He concluded with a broad assessment of the administration’s performance. “The middle class has been totally wiped out. I am terribly disappointed in President Tinubu. This regime has taken more loans than all the previous governments put together… So, generally, I will say the performance has been shambolic,” he said.
