Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has labelled any politician promising to serve one term in office as mentally deranged and deserving of a psychiatric examination.

“Any politician who said he would do one term must be sent to a psychiatric home,” said Mr Soludo at the Anambra South endorsement rally in support of his second term bid on Saturday. “How can anybody with a brain say that? You have taken anybody to be fools.”

While noting the Nigerian constitution allows elected officers, especially presidents and governors, to serve for eight years in office, Mr Soludo said politicians vowing to spend four years in office are liars.

“Tell us who and where that had ever happened when the constitution allows up to eight years. They have come to lie to us,” the politician added.

Mr Soludo’s comments came weeks after the former Anambra governor, Peter Obi, expressed readiness to serve only four years in office if Nigerians support him to become president in 2027.

“If there is any form of agreement that will restrict me to four years in office, I will comply with the agreement and be ready to leave office by May 28, 2031,” Mr Obi said, urging Nigerians to see the need to rescue the country with him.

Former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi also declared his intention to serve for one term should he win the presidential ticket and contest the election.

“For now, the way Nigeria is, you must keep to that unwritten agreement that says south eight years, north eight years,” Mr Amaechi said. “I led a fight against the PDP government because there was an agreement that the government at that time would spend four years, but after four years, the government reneged, and I said, ‘No, that will be unfair.’”

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress had described members of the coalition as internally displaced politicians who were only interested in grabbing power.