Veteran lawyer Kenneth Okonkwo has said that Peter Obi’s one-term pledge, though strategic, could also serve a broader purpose in unifying the country and fostering political fairness.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News, Okonkwo argued that agreeing to a four-year presidency isn’t necessarily about personal preference, it’s a recognition of Nigeria’s rotational reality, and a gesture that opens the door for national trust and equitable competition.
Okonkwo noted that because the South has already held the presidency for four years under Bola Tinubu, a fresh Southern aspirant automatically enters at a disadvantage if they propose to run for eight years.
However, if that aspirant, like Peter Obi, voluntarily limits themselves to one term, they level the playing field. It becomes a fair arrangement should a Northern candidate also offer a one-term proposal, allowing both regions to compete on equal footing without feelings of marginalization.
He further suggested that in the absence of an incumbent, opposition parties should take the opportunity to form a transitional agreement. Such a consensus could involve a written or public commitment that any presidential candidate from the coalition would serve only one term and not exercise their constitutional right to seek re-election. Okonkwo believes this would inspire public confidence and promote regional equity in leadership succession.
“It is not because the politician did not want to do eight years, but he knows that he has only four years left from the Southern remaining term. But here is another issue, by agreeing you’d do four years, you’ve also agreed that if there’s any other Northerner that says he would do four years, then both of you are at the same level of equity because there’d be no injustice to either section.”
“So there’s nothing wrong in a party, for instance, especially an opposition party that doesn’t have an incumbent, saying, in order that Nigerians would be free to trust that they are going to have a transitional government, whoever is going to contest would have to agree to do one term and not exercise his constitutional rights to recontest,” Okonkwo said.
