Kenneth Okonkwo, former Labour Party (LP) spokesperson, has alleged that he was the brain behind the one-term presidency strategy that Peter Obi has now adopted as part of his 2027 campaign pitch.
Gatekeepers News reports that Obi, who contested the 2023 election under LP, pledged in June to serve only four years if elected.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Okonkwo revealed that the proposal was his idea, intended to make opposition candidates more appealing to both northern and southern blocs.
He said, “Ironically, this issue of one-term presidency, I was the one who propounded it as theory, saying any party that is serious to fight an incumbent must have to say whoever that’s going to contest must have to do one term, so no side would feel cheated.”
Okonkwo said that the pledge was necessary to calm regional suspicions and ensure political balance. He said, “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 linked the strategy to earlier moves by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, noting that Obi later adopted it after seeing its importance.
He said, “If you’re a southerner and you don’t agree to do one term, the northerners would say you want to do another eight years that would offend the system. If you’re a northerner and you don’t agree to do one term, the southerners would say you want to cut us short early in time.”
The politician added that Obi’s vow was never about principle but simply a tool to reassure both regions. He said, “So it’s purely a political strategy to say, ‘Look, I am not going to cut the eight years. I’m not going to shortchange you. So if I am elected, I will just do only four years to complete the eight years of the south.’ That’s just the whole idea about it.”
