Elder statesman Chekwas Okorie has dismissed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi one-term agreement.
Naija News reports that Obi’s running mate, Rabiu Kwakwanso, had disclosed on Tuesday that the NDC flagbearer had agreed to serve one term as president, if elected in 2027.
He said after the one term, he will hand over power to the North in line with the agreement reached within the party.
However, Okorie, during an interview with The Nation, asserted that Obi’s agreement is personal and does not represent the Southeast.
Okorie, who frowned at the agreement, said a personal political commitment is different from a product of consensus.
He maintained that the pact is not binding on Ndigbo because it limits the presidential aspirations of other Igbo politicians beyond 2031.
Okorie said: “Peter Obi did not sign the agreement for the Igbo; he signed for himself. Even before entering into that agreement, he had always said he would do only one term.”
He noted that Obi was not the only presidential aspirant to make such a commitment, pointing out that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had also publicly declared his intention to serve a single term, if elected.
Okorie recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan faced similar allegations of entering into a one-term agreement with northern political leaders before assuming office, although he neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
Okorie stressed: “President Jonathan was accused of entering into a similar one-term agreement with the North. Later, the North alleged that he changed his mind, even though he never confirmed nor denied the existence of such an agreement.”
He said he was not surprised that Kwankwaso demanded a documented agreement before accepting to become Obi’s running mate, because many of his supporters in the North believed he had stronger presidential credentials.
Okorie added: “Some of them assessed him higher than Peter Obi. But in terms of electoral performance, Peter Obi outperformed him in the 2023 presidential election. So, he needed an agreement, and Peter Obi, who had already declared his intention to serve one term, had no difficulty entering into it.”
Okorie, who was national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), insisted that if NDC had decided to zone it’s presidential ticket to the North after Obi’s tenure, it is an internal party arrangement.
He said the agreement would not prevent other Igbo politicians in different political parties from contesting the presidency in 2031.
Okorie said: “So, those agreements are well in order, but there is no way that means an Igbo man cannot run for the presidency in 2031. There are Igbo people in other parties who have presidential ambition, whether spoken or unspoken.”
He identified Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and the Minister of Works, David Umahi, as prominent Igbo political figures with presidential aspirations.
Okorie said: “It may not be in the NDC because the party has made a commitment, but nobody says these people cannot present themselves for the presidency in 2031.”
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