Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has revealed the behind-the-scenes reasoning behind Peter Obi’s startling pledge to serve only one term if elected president in 2027, a move that has stirred both admiration and suspicion in Nigeria’s political space.
In an interview on Trust TV on Sunday, seen by First News correspondent on Monday, August 11, Dalung insisted the plan was not dictated by the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC) but came from Obi’s deeply held belief about the pitfalls of power.
He said, “The idea of single term has nothing to do with coalition, it is just a general conviction of Peter Obi cos I have engage him on it and he told me ‘what has destroyed our democracy is the issue of second term’ and he believes that a single term is enough for a person to make impact, whatever you want to do you can do it.
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“Leaders are easily distracted with second term. Immediately the first year, the second year, governance is easily abandoned and all you could hear is plans and preparation for second term,” Dalung added.
Obi, who ran under the Labour Party in 2023, has doubled down on his vow to serve only four years if elected, claiming he does not need eight to turn the country around.
The declaration has split public opinion. Loyalists see it as a rare promise of selfless leadership in a system often consumed by re-election battles, while detractors suspect it is a calculated move to capture the presidency through moral high ground.