Kenneth Okonkwo, former Labour Party chieftain and member of the opposition coalition, has described Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term if elected president as a calculated move to win support in northern Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, the veteran actor-turned-politician said Obi recognized the political necessity of such a pledge to avoid alienating northern voters.
“In Nigeria’s political climate, any opposition party seeking to defeat an incumbent must assure all regions that no side will be sidelined,” Okonkwo explained. “I brought the theory as a way for any opposition party to inspire Nigerians to know that each side will not lose when they make any choice, whether North or South.”
He noted that the one-term promise was not unique to Obi, citing that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had made a similar commitment in the past. “It was even Atiku Abubakar who first said he would do one term. Peter Obi keyed into it because he knows that if he, as a younger person, does not make that promise, he loses the entire North. So it’s purely a political strategy,” Okonkwo said.
According to him, Obi’s stance was intended to reassure Nigerians that his presidency would not shortchange any region, but rather complete the South’s eight-year tenure before the next power rotation.
