A factional leader of the Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, has cast doubt on Peter Obi’s recent pledge to serve only one term if elected Nigeria’s president in 2027, warning Nigerians not to take the former Anambra State governor for his word.
Speaking on ‘The Morning Brief’ breakfast show on Channels Television on Tuesday morning, Arabambi questioned Obi’s political consistency and credibility, referencing the former LP presidential candidate’s defection from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) despite earlier promises to remain with the party.
“So, Peter Obi cannot be telling Nigerians, ‘Oh don’t worry, I will do a single term,’ when ab initio with his own mouth, he said he would stay in APGA; he is not going to leave,” Arabambi said during the live interview.
He added, “We are not going to trust him.”
LEADERSHIP reports that Obi, who came third in the 2023 presidential election with over six million votes, recently reiterated his intention to serve only one term if elected in the next general election.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Obi wrote: “In my political life, my word is my bond… My vow to serve only one term of four years is a solemn commitment, rooted in my conviction that purposeful, transparent leadership does not require an eternity.”
But Arabambi, who is the factional national publicity secretary of the Labour Party, dismissed the statement as political rhetoric. He insisted that Obi should not be trusted with such a promise, accusing the former governor of lacking loyalty and exploiting the LP for personal gain.
According to him, Obi gained significant support during the 2023 election cycle not necessarily because of his own merit but due to the growing frustration among Nigerian youth with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Peter Obi got support because the youth were tired of the then Muhammadu Buhari administration and the PDP. No kobo of Peter Obi entered the party,” Arabambi claimed, arguing that, “The Labour Party made Peter Obi and not the other way around.”
Despite Arabambi’s scathing criticism, Obi continues to draw support from many Nigerians, including renowned novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who has remained vocal about her endorsement of the LP candidate.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Amazing Africans, Adichie described Obi as a selfless leader genuinely concerned about the country’s future.
“He (Obi) doesn’t need to be president. He wants to be because he cares about Nigeria, but he doesn’t need to be. And that is a very important distinction,” she said.
The award-winning author added, “Peter Obi is not a person who expects you to thank him for doing his job as a leader, because to him it’s his job. There’s a sense, I think, in Peter Obi that he’s accountable to the people. He doesn’t think that somehow he will lord it over people.”
