A chieftain of the opposition coalition, Kenneth Okonkwo, has said that former Anambra State governor Peter Obi’s pledge to serve only one term if elected president is a deliberate political strategy to gain acceptance in the North.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Okonkwo explained that Obi risked losing northern votes if he failed to make such a promise.
He recalled that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had earlier made a similar one-term commitment, which Obi later adopted to assure northerners that the South would not seek to retain power beyond the agreed cycle.
“It is purely a political strategy,” Okonkwo said. “If Obi does not agree to a single term, northerners would feel shortchanged. If a northerner refuses the same, southerners would feel cut off. So, it balances the system.”
The lawyer argued that any opposition party serious about defeating an incumbent must adopt the one-term option to reassure all regions that no side would be disadvantaged.
