Here’s a rewritten vKenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the opposition coalition, has described the one-term pledge made by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, as a calculated political move designed to attract votes from the North.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, the veteran actor-turned-politician argued that no opposition party can successfully challenge an incumbent government without adopting a one-term power-sharing arrangement that assures balance between the regions.
According to him, Obi recognized that without such a commitment, he risked alienating northern voters.
“I developed the idea as a way to assure Nigerians that neither the North nor the South would feel disadvantaged in choosing a candidate. In fact, it was Atiku Abubakar who first floated the one-term promise, and Obi, being younger, realized he had to adopt it or risk losing the entire North,” Okonkwo explained.
He further stressed that the strategy was not about limiting Obi’s ambition, but about reassuring northern stakeholders that the South would only complete its two-term presidential slot.
“It’s a political strategy to make it clear: ‘I won’t shortchange anyone. I’ll serve just four years to complete the South’s turn,’” he added.
