Senator Adams Oshiomhole has taken aim at Peter Obi’s 2027 presidential bid, dismissing the NDC candidate’s pledge to transform Nigeria within a single four-year term as wishful thinking driven by desperation.
Oshiomhole made the remarks during an appearance on TVC’s Beyond the Headlines, shortly after Obi reaffirmed in a recent interview that he would serve only one term if elected president in 2027.
Casting doubt on Obi’s consistency, the former Edo State governor pointed to his departure from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) after leaving office as Anambra governor — a move he said contradicted Obi’s earlier pledge.
“Let’s face it. The Peter Obi that was governor of Anambra State is not the Peter Obi of today, because the Peter Obi of Anambra was one who said, as a matter of respect to the memory of Ojukwu, he will not ever abandon APGA.
“But before daybreak, once his tenure ended, Obi became a political wanderer,” Oshiomhole said.
The APC chieftain also argued that Obi’s background as a trader made him ill-suited for the long-term thinking required to govern a country like Nigeria, saying traders are wired for short-term gains rather than sustained planning.
“Obi is a trader. Traders have short-term calculation. They are not into long-term projections. They are not wired to think of what situation will be in the long run,” he said.
Oshiomhole further alleged that Obi’s business interests were centred on importation rather than domestic production.
“Obi’s business is to export jobs and import unemployment to the country. That is what he lives for. He’s a trader,” he said.
By contrast, Oshiomhole praised President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, saying the President had inherited a country in dire straits and made tough decisions to set it on a better path.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu is someone who believes that for your tomorrow, we must do certain things today, painful as it may be,” he said.
He likened Tinubu’s reforms to a necessary surgical procedure, arguing that the country was beginning to feel the benefits despite the opposition’s criticism.
Oshiomhole also referenced past comments by Obi during xenophobic attacks in South Africa, claiming they revealed a lack of sound judgement from someone aspiring to the nation’s highest office.
“Do you really believe that anybody whose business is for real, who couldn’t fix a state in four years, he worked hard in eight years, he didn’t fix it… is telling you and me at our age that he just needs four years? That is the height of desperation,” he said.
He argued that desperation clouds sound judgement, insisting that Obi’s campaign promises lacked any real credibility.
“Once you are desperate, you become emotionally imbalanced,” Oshiomhole said, adding that Obi would be “the easiest person to engage in a debate.”