KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Presidency criticised NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for saying he would serve only one four-year term if elected president in 2027.
- Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said a single-term deal would shortchange the South-East’s long quest for the presidency.
- Nkwocha urged wider consultations and long-term planning, asking if Obi consulted South-East political, traditional, business and intellectual leaders before making the pledge.
The Presidency has criticized the decision by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to serve only one four-year term if elected president in 2027, saying such an arrangement could weaken the South-East’s long-standing effort to produce a Nigerian president.
CityNews reports that the reaction followed Obi’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, where he said he would be willing to spend only one term in office instead of seeking the maximum two terms allowed by the Constitution.
Reacting to the development, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said Obi’s decision to accept a single term was “a personal arrangement that would shortchange the South-East’s long-standing quest for the presidency.”
Nkwocha said the struggle for an Igbo president has lasted for decades and should not be reduced to an individual political agreement.
According to him, “The desire for an Igbo presidency is bigger than Peter Obi. It is bigger than any one politician, party, campaign slogan, or social media movement.”
In an interview with Nigerian Tribune, he recalled that several respected Igbo politicians, including Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alex Ekwueme and Rochas Okorocha, sought the presidency but were unsuccessful.
He argued that the South-East’s ambition should be pursued through wider consultations and long-term political planning rather than personal arrangements.
Questioning Obi’s reported decision, Nkwocha asked, “If Ndigbo have waited this long for the presidency, should their most visible aspirant be negotiating a four-year tenancy in Aso Rock?” He also questioned whether Obi consulted political, traditional, business and intellectual leaders from the region before making such a commitment.
