Former Labour Party presidential candidate and 2027 hopeful, Peter Obi, has reignited national discourse on political reform by proposing a single five-year tenure for the Office of the President in Nigeria. Speaking during a courtesy visit to Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, Obi emphasized that eliminating the possibility of a second term would refocus presidential leadership on governance rather than re-election campaigns.
“It should be five years straight, so that people can come in knowing they have a job to do,” Obi stated. “What people do now is to be president for one year and use the rest of the years thinking about their next tenure. We must stop it, let’s face the real job, do your own and go.”
Obi cited South Korea’s presidential system as a model, arguing that a single term would foster accountability, urgency, and performance-driven leadership. He pledged that if elected in 2027, he would serve only one term and not remain in office beyond the constitutionally allowed four years.
Beyond tenure reform, Obi also called for strengthening Nigeria’s political institutions. He stressed the need for political parties to be more powerful than individual officeholders, saying: “I want the party to be bigger than the president and the governors so that we can have orderliness”.
Governor Bala Mohammed responded by urging Obi to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing it as his political home and calling for unity among opposition parties to prioritize national interest over personal ambition.