The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) has criticised Labour Party presidential hopeful Peter Obi’s recent pledge to serve a single four-year term if elected, calling the vow “mere rhetoric” that fails to address Nigeria’s deep-rooted socio-economic challenges.
In a statement signed by SPN Acting National Chairperson Abiodun Bamigboye and National Secretary Chinedu Bosah, the party argued that Nigeria’s problems are not rooted in leadership tenure or political rotation but in what it described as a “ruinous capitalist system” that exploits the masses for the benefit of a privileged elite.
“Obi’s vow may appear modest in a power-hungry political climate, but it amounts to nothing more than empty rhetoric without a decisive break from capitalism,” the party stated.
SPN maintained that the structural crises affecting Nigeria; mass poverty, unemployment, dilapidated infrastructure, and failing education and healthcare, stem from a capitalist system that has been perpetuated by both military and civilian governments.
The party advocated for a socialist alternative where the commanding heights of the economy are nationalised and placed under the democratic control of the working people. According to the SPN, such a system would ensure that national resources are planned and deployed for the benefit of the majority, not the profit of a few.
“A socialist Nigeria would guarantee free and quality healthcare and education, create jobs through massive public investment and industrialisation, and implement meaningful social welfare programs,” the statement read.
SPN also dismissed the possibility of meaningful change under current political actors, including President Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi, accusing them of being committed to preserving the capitalist status quo despite their reformist rhetoric.
“Their class interests are firmly tied to the elite structures that have failed Nigerians,” the party said, insisting that only a government led by the working class, in alliance with oppressed groups, can bring about genuine liberation and development.
The statement called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to abandon their passive stance and actively lead the rebuilding of the Labour Party or support the formation of a new mass workers’ party rooted in grassroots struggles and committed to a socialist programme.
