…Kenneth Okonkwo accuses Obi of lacking effective leadership.
LAGOS, NIGERIA – The iNews Times | Former spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has dismissed Peter Obi’s recent promise to serve only one term in office if elected president in 2027 as nothing more than a political strategy designed to win votes from the North.
Speaking during a Channels Television interview on Sunrise Daily on Friday, Kenneth Okonkwo said Obi’s one-term offer was part of a larger effort to reassure northern voters that power rotation would not be disrupted if he wins.
“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 said. “It was even Atiku Abubakar that first of all said he was going to do one term. Then Peter Obi now keyed into it because he knows that if he, as a younger person, does not make that promise, he loses the entire North.”
Kenneth Okonkwo, a former Nollywood actor and lawyer, played a central role in Peter Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign before resigning from the Labour Party earlier this year. He now accuses Obi of lacking effective leadership and failing to resolve deepening internal crises within the LP.
Revisiting his original one-term theory, Okonkwo explained that any party seeking to unseat an incumbent must ensure its candidate agrees to a single term. According to him, this strategy is critical for maintaining regional balance and avoiding perceptions of dominance.
“If you are a southerner and you don’t agree to do one term, northerners will say you want to do another eight years, which will offend the system,” he stated. “If you are a northerner and you don’t agree to one term, southerners will say you want to cut them short. So to avoid this, the only way is to promise four years and move on.”
Kenneth Okonkwo argued that Obi’s proposal is less about noble intent and more about electoral math.
“It’s purely a political strategy to say, ‘Look, I’m 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 the whole idea.”
Peter Obi, who served as governor of Anambra State and was Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, recently confirmed he will contest again in 2027.
During a live session on X Spaces, Obi pledged to serve only one term if elected and claimed he could stabilise Nigeria within his first two years in office.
While he dismissed rumours of a joint ticket with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Obi said he remained open to coalition talks focused on key national issues such as insecurity, poverty, and economic revival.
