Kenneth Okonkwo, a prominent member of Nigeria’s opposition coalition, has characterized Peter Obi’s pledge to serve only a single presidential term as a calculated tactical move aimed at securing support from the North.
Okonkwo, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, argued that Obi recognized standing any chance of victory required winning northern hearts. “So, 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 said .
He further elaborated: “So, it was even Atiku Abubakar that first of all said he was going to do one term, then Peter Obi now keyed into it because he knows that if he, as a younger person, does not make that promise, he loses the entire North.”
Describing the one-term proposal as a unifying gesture, Okonkwo explained: “It’s purely a political strategy to say, ‘Look, I am not going to cut the eight years. I’m not going to shortchange you. So if I am elected, I will just do only four years to complete the eight years of the South.’ So that’s just the whole idea about it.”
He stressed the broader political rationale behind the strategy: “I was the one who propounded it (one-term presidency) as a theory, saying that any party that is serious about fighting an incumbent must have to say that whoever is going to contest should have to do one term so that no side will feel cheated.”
Okonkwo further warned of regional discontent if the one-term concept is ignored: “So if you are a southerner, if you don’t agree to do one term, the northerners will say you want to do another eight years, which will offend the system. If you are a northerner, if you don’t agree to do one term, the southerners will say that means you want to cut us short early.”
