posted 6th May 2025
Debate Over Peter Obi's Potential Presidency Stirs Controversy
Lagos, 6 May 2025 – A proposed political arrangement suggesting that Peter Obi, a prominent Nigerian politician, could be selected as the presidential candidate for a coalition, with a single four-year term before power returns to the North, has sparked heated debate across the country.
The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Babatunde Gbadamosi, a Nigerian businessman and political commentator, who argues that such a plan is flawed and potentially detrimental to Nigeria’s progress.
In a series of posts on X, Gbadamosi dismissed the idea of limiting Obi to a single term, asserting that if Obi performs well during a four-year presidency, he should be granted another term to solidify his achievements. “This makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. If Obi does well in 4 years, he needs another 4 years to consolidate,” Gbadamosi wrote. He further expressed scepticism about entrusting power to the North, stating, “The North have demonstrated time and again that they are NOT to be trusted YET with power in Nigeria.”
Gbadamosi proposed an alternative vision, suggesting that Nigeria could benefit from a presidency led by Datti Baba-Ahmed, Obi’s running mate in the 2023 election, following an eight-year Obi presidency. While acknowledging his view might be unpopular, Gbadamosi pointed to his track record of accurate political predictions to bolster his argument. He claimed to have foreseen the alleged rigging of the 2015 elections by the All Progressives Congress (APC) with American assistance, the disastrous tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and the current administration of President Bola Tinubu, which he described as even worse than Buhari’s.
The debate comes at a critical time as Nigeria grapples with economic challenges, insecurity, and political polarisation. Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023, remains a polarizing yet influential figure, with strong support among younger voters and in southern Nigeria. However, the idea of a rotational presidency, a long-standing but contentious practice aimed at balancing power between Nigeria’s diverse regions, continues to provoke disagreement.
While some political analysts argue that a single-term presidency for Obi could foster national unity by adhering to the rotational principle, others, like Gbadamosi, warn that it risks undermining effective governance.
