ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai has criticised pledges by opposition figures Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi to serve only one term if elected president in 2027, saying such commitments are unrealistic and not credible.
El-Rufai, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, argued that meaningful reforms require more than four years in office and that politicians who make one-term promises often reverse themselves once in power.
“Now, on the question of people coming out and saying, ‘I will do one term,’ I don’t think anyone believes that,” el-Rufai said.
“I don’t think it is right. You should not constitutionally give up what is yours. And frankly, as someone who has been governor for eight years, and Amaechi and Peter Obi have both been governors, they know the time it takes to make meaningful change in government. Four years is not enough.”
Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has insisted that four years would be sufficient to “reset the country” and has repeatedly argued that the impact of leadership matters more than tenure length.
Amaechi, a former minister of transportation now linked with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said he would step down after one term to promote political rotation and stability.
El-Rufai dismissed both positions, insisting that the public does not take such promises seriously.
“So, I want to appeal to everyone to stop making these commitments of ‘I will do four years’ or ‘I will do eight years’, because nobody believes you,” he said.
The former governor also addressed the issue of zoning, explaining that his support for power shift to the south in the 2023 election was based on an agreement among All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders during the party’s formation.
He said he mobilised northern governors to support the decision without considering the rival Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) strategy.
“Zoning is a political strategy each party deploys to enhance its chances of winning elections,” he said.
Commenting on the ADC, which Amaechi has associated himself with, el-Rufai said the party was “still forming” and that discussions on zoning would be determined by its leadership and founders at a later stage.
