Former House of Representatives Minority Leader Farouq Aliyu has called Peter Obi’s promise to run for president for a single term in 2027 “mere rhetoric” and an indication of his lack of understanding of the difficulties of running Nigeria.
Aliyu challenged Obi’s single term pledge during an appearance on Prime Time, an Arise Television program, on Wednesday. He implied that the former governor of Anambra State had the national governance expertise required to make such promises.
“Sometimes when you’re out of office or when you’re not in the place, you’d not know. To me, it’s just rhetoric, and he’s also trying to convince people,” Aliyu said.

He stressed that governing a state is fundamentally different from leading a country as large and complex as Nigeria.
“Obi is talking out of ignorance. He doesn’t know. States are different from Nigeria. When you govern a small state, the horizon of a state governor is not as wide as the horizon of a president,” Aliyu stated.
Recall that Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, recently reaffirmed that he would only serve a single term if elected in 2027 and that he would take advantage of the chance to create a new Nigeria.

Aliyu also attacked the opposition alliance, specifically the African Democratic Congress (ADC), claiming that although the participants are respected, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is not seriously threatened by them.
“We respect them; we admire them as Nigerian leaders, but honestly, they don’t threaten us. All of them are after us. So, we need to spread our tentacles to make sure we pour sand inside their gàárì,” he said, using a Nigerian idiom implying disruption of their plans.

Although Aliyu conceded that certain opposition leaders provide helpful critique, he insisted that their alliance is too dispersed to contest the APC’s hegemony before the 2027 elections.
“Whether they are going to give us a run for our money, I don’t think so. It is a conglomeration of presidential candidates. Virtually all leaders of that group want to be president; unfortunately for them, only one person can be president,” he added.