The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has expressed confidence that the party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, will honour his promise to serve only one four-year term if elected in the 2027 presidential election.
Kwankwaso stated this during an interview on News Central’s 60 Minutes with Mr Kay, while responding to questions about Obi’s commitment to a single tenure and the coalition’s succession arrangement.
According to him, Obi has made the pledge publicly and should be trusted to fulfil it.
“I personally believe Peter Obi is a gentleman and I have every reason to trust him, especially that he said it to the hearing of everybody. Nobody should have any reason to doubt him,” Kwankwaso said.
He explained that the power-sharing arrangement within the NDC is founded on mutual trust and a collective understanding among members of the coalition.
Kwankwaso argued that allowing the South to complete an eight-year presidency is consistent with the agreement reached by the alliance.
“We believe the southern part of the country should complete its second term and with that, and to the hearing of everybody in this country, I don’t believe any gentleman would want to renege, would want to say no or change his or her mind,” he stated.
The former Kano State governor said the coalition’s objective extends beyond individual political ambitions, noting that it has developed a comprehensive governance agenda to guide the country’s development.
According to him, the NDC is focused on implementing agreed short-, medium- and long-term plans rather than promoting the interests of any particular political bloc.
“More importantly, we have collectively gotten a short-term, medium-term and, of course, long-term plan for this country. It does not matter whether it is him from the Obidient side, or my humble self from the Kwankwasiyya side or another side, we believe we have an agenda,” he said.
Kwankwaso added that the coalition would work to ensure continuity of its programmes regardless of who eventually emerges as president.
“That agenda, we will as much as possible ensure that whoever comes, maybe Peter, maybe me or any other person, would stick to that programme,” he added.
