The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, says he is confident the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will honour his pledge to serve only one four-year term if elected in 2027, revealing that both men signed a written agreement to that effect.
Kwankwaso made the disclosure during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, where he said the agreement provides for power to return to the North after Obi’s single term in office.
Asked whether Obi’s commitment to a one-term presidency was “sacrosanct,” the former Kano State governor said he had no reason to doubt the former Anambra State governor’s promise.
“Oh yes, I personally believe him and I don’t think, based on what I now know about him, he will change his mind when the time comes. We are all gentlemen, even though we have accepted to put it on paper,” Kwankwaso said.
Asked if the agreement had been formally documented, Kwankwaso said separate agreements were signed by the party and by him and Obi.
“We have done one for the party, and we have done another one between the two of us,” he said.
Explaining the terms of the agreement, Kwankwaso said the arrangement was for Obi to serve a single four-year term from 2027 to 2031, after which political power would return to the North.
“The agreement is what you said, that after four years, we will work together, team together as a group, as a party, as friends, brothers and so on, so that after his term, or our term, of four years, 2027 to 2031, then it comes back to the North, and that is the general agreement.”
Kwankwaso said his decision to accept the vice-presidential slot, despite previously seeking the presidency, was influenced by what he described as the need for a four-year southern presidency before power returns to the North.
“Together we felt that the presidency should go to the South for four years; thereafter it will come back to the North. We believe that should be the consensus of everybody in this country so that we can move together as a family, both North and South,” he said.
Asked whether he intended to contest the presidency in 2031, Kwankwaso said the party was focused on its immediate objectives while also considering its long-term plans.
“We have a short-term plan which we are executing now and, of course, we also have our medium and long-term plans for the country, and that is what we are working on now,” he said.
Obi had in May pledged to serve only one term if elected president, saying he would not remain in office beyond four years.
“I want to be a one-term president because of stability. I would not stay a day, with a gun to my head, longer than four years,” Obi had said.
