Prominent human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticized the ongoing political debate over a single-term presidency, calling it a distraction from the serious challenges facing the country.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Monday, Falana condemned the push by some political figures advocating for a four-year single term ahead of the 2027 elections. He described the debate as a diversionary tactic that ignores the nation’s urgent priorities.
“I’m not going to join the campaign for power shift or power remaining in one part of the country for four years or eight years. No, that’s diversionary,” he stated.
Falana argued that political discourse should instead focus on addressing critical issues such as insecurity, power supply failures, and widespread poverty.
“You insult the Nigerian people when you hand over the politics of the country to a few people to decide who should govern, for how long, from which region, or which religious group,” he said.
“For goodness’ sake, can we address the problems confronting the country and embrace those who have solutions?”
Citing the Constitution, Falana pointed to Section 224, which mandates political parties to align with the nation’s fundamental objectives, and Section 14, which states that the security and welfare of citizens must be the primary purpose of government.
He stressed the importance of tackling core developmental challenges, particularly in the energy sector: “Let us begin to address problems confronting the country, including electricity, because without electricity, we cannot have industrialisation.”
Falana’s comments follow recent remarks by Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who reaffirmed his promise to serve only one term if elected president in 2027, citing the need to respect Nigeria’s informal North-South power rotation agreement.
