…PRP Chair: Obi, Kwankwaso Wanted Automatic Presidential Ticket
By Abu Adamu
Political controversy erupted on Wednesday after former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, declared that he would serve only one term if elected president in 2027, a pledge swiftly dismissed by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, as unbelievable.
Speaking during a viral television interview, Obi said his decision to limit himself to a single four-year term was driven by the need to stabilise Nigeria and reverse what he described as the country’s worsening economic and security crisis.
“For stability, I will not stay a day longer than four years even with a gun to my head,” Obi declared.
The former Anambra governor accused the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of excessive borrowing, rising hunger, and poor handling of insecurity.
“What we have now is only two years, yet in that short period, someone has borrowed more than all the previous governments put together.
“It is only in two years that Nigeria has become the hungriest country in the world.
“A president of Nigeria can stay in Abuja and 200 people die in Jos, or in Niger, or in Benue, and you are still sitting here,” he said.
Obi argued that a president must personally visit troubled areas to fully understand the crisis and provide leadership.
“If it were me, I would go there. When you go to the theatre of war, you will know how to contribute. So they have failed in everything,” he said.
He also lamented the decline in agricultural productivity, noting that even war-torn Ukraine was donating grain to Nigeria while local farmers struggled amid insecurity.
“Ukraine, that is at war, is donating grain to Nigeria. Look at what happened to us with our farmers. When we had a crisis, instead of intervening, we went to import food and killed(sic) all the farmers,” Obi added.
But Onanuga dismissed the former governor’s pledge, insisting that Obi’s political history showed he could not be trusted to keep such a promise.
“If you believe Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term as president, you’ll believe anything,” Onanuga said in a sharp response.
The presidential spokesman recalled Obi’s past loyalty pledge to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), saying the former governor once vowed never to leave the party that made him governor.
“He gave his word to the Ikemba, even on his deathbed, swearing loyalty and fidelity to APGA. Yet, Peter Obi’s pledges have always been short-lived,” Onanuga said.
“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,” he added.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has claimed that the party rejected demands by Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for an automatic joint presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 election.
Speaking during an interview on a Hausa political programme on DITV Kaduna, Baba-Ahmed said talks on a possible alliance had progressed to the stage of forming a joint committee before disagreements over conditions for entry stalled the discussions.
According to him, Obi and Kwankwaso wanted guarantees that they would secure the party’s presidential ticket upon joining the PRP.
“We told them no, this is PRP; we do not practise that kind of politics,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He insisted that both politicians would have to formally join the party and contest like every other aspirant.
“I told them: first come into the party. After joining, you can then tell me, ‘I am Obi and I want to run for president,’ and ‘I am Kwankwaso and I want to be his running mate’.
“But for you to come even before a decision is made and ask us to guarantee you the ticket without opposition… why fear competition?” he said.
Baba-Ahmed acknowledged the political weight of both men but maintained that the party would not compromise its internal democratic process.
“If anyone entered a room and saw Obi and Kwankwaso, they would think strong contenders had arrived,” he said.
He further disclosed that both camps also sought a sizeable share of party positions in exchange for bringing supporters into the PRP, a request he said could only be discussed after formal membership.