Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, has criticised Peter Obi’s single-term presidency pledge, describing it as an attempt to practise what he called “chop and chop democracy”.
The former governor of Edo spoke on Monday in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, at a rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The rally was attended by Vice-President Kashim Shettima and other party leaders.
In May, Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) said he would serve only one four-year term if elected president, even if a gun were pointed to his head.
“I want to be a one-term president because of stability,” he said during an interview on News Central Television.
“I would not stay a day longer than four years, even with a gun to my head.”
‘WE WANT LEADERS WHO CAN SPEAK THE TRUTH TO THE PEOPLE’
Oshiomhole questioned Obi’s ability to transform Nigeria within four years, arguing that had had failed to fix Anambra during his eight-year tenure as governor.
“For you to know what a child will be, you look at his character as a younger person. Peter says he will govern for four years only,” he said.
“If Peter Obi could not fix Anambra state in eight years, how can he look you korokoro in the eye and say he only needs four years? It’s just chop and chop democracy. We want leaders who can speak the truth to the people.”
The senator also criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, claiming he spends much of his time abroad and is disconnected from the daily realities of Nigerians.
“Atiku says we should not go and pray. Alright. Atiku lives in Dubai. He only comes home on the eve of every election. When he loses the next election in February, he will be back in Dubai,” he said.
Oshiomhole said President Bola Tinubu had proved to be the best among the presidential candidates, having demonstrated the courage to take difficult decisions that many of his predecessors had shied away from.
He cited the recognition of Cross River as an oil-producing state as one of the gains of Tinubu’s reforms, saying it would increase revenue accruing to the state.
“Today under President Bola Tinubu, Cross River is considered an oil-producing state. This is a structural change that will forever increase revenue accruing to the state,” he said.
The former governor also cited the student loan scheme as an intervention that would expand access to tertiary education, irrespective of students’ family backgrounds.
He said 12,503 students in Cross River had benefited from the scheme, adding that the initiative would ease the financial burden of university education on parents.
He said the completion of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project would bring development to Cross River and several states.
He added that Tinubu’s removal of the multiple exchange rate system had also ended the disparity between the rates available to privileged individuals and ordinary Nigerians.
“Today, the rate of exchange in Calabar is the same rate in my village that is not even on the map,” Oshiomhole said.