Kenneth Okonkwo Claims Peter Obi Promised One Term to Appeal to Northern Voters

Kenneth Okonkwo, a former Labour Party chieftain and member of the opposition coalition, has suggested that Peter Obi’s pledge to serve only one term if elected president is a strategic move to gain support in northern Nigeria.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, the veteran actor-turned-politician said Obi made the promise to avoid alienating northern voters, noting that opposition parties must reassure all regions that no area will be sidelined.

“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,” Okonkwo said.

He added that the idea of a one-term presidency is not new, pointing out that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had made a similar pledge in the past.

“It was even Atiku Abubakar that first said he was going to do one term, then 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 explained.

According to him, Obi’s promise is intended to reassure Nigerians that his presidency would not shortchange any region, but would instead complete the South’s eight-year tenure before the power rotation returns.