2027: Nigerians Shouldn’t Trust Obi’s One-Term Promise – Arabambi

Labour Party (LP) chieftain, Abayomi Arabambi, has dismissed Peter Obi’s pledge to serve only one term if elected president in 2027, urging Nigerians not to take the promise seriously.

Arabambi said Obi’s political history suggests he cannot be trusted to keep such a commitment. He referenced Obi’s defection from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the party under which he was first elected governor of Anambra State, as an example of broken promises.

“We don’t trust him,” Arabambi said. “Peter Obi is now saying, ‘I’ll serve just one term,’ but this is the same man who once vowed never to leave APGA. So, how can we believe him now?”

Obi, who ran as the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election and came third with over six million votes, has recently renewed his promise to serve only one term if elected president in 2027.

“In my political life, my word is my bond,” Obi reiterated in a tweet on Sunday. “My vow to serve a single four-year term is a solemn commitment, based on the belief that effective, transparent leadership doesn’t require a lifetime.”

However, Arabambi remains skeptical. He argues that Obi’s rise in the 2023 election was driven more by public dissatisfaction with former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), rather than by Obi’s own political credibility.

He also accused Obi of contributing nothing financially to the Labour Party, claiming instead that the party elevated Obi—not the other way around.
“No single kobo from Peter Obi went into the party,” Arabambi said.

Meanwhile, acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has publicly defended Obi, describing him as a selfless leader driven by genuine concern for Nigeria.

“Peter Obi doesn’t need to be president; he wants to, because he cares about Nigeria,” Adichie said during an appearance on Channels Television’s Amazing Africans. “That’s a crucial difference. Some people are desperate for power for ego’s sake—not Obi.”

She added: “Peter Obi doesn’t expect thanks for doing his job. He sees leadership as a duty, not a favor. He believes in accountability and doesn’t view himself as above the people.”