2027: We Have Written Agreement Obi Will Serve Only One Term — Kwankwaso

Former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi

2027: We Have Written Agreement Obi Will Serve Only One Term — Kwankwaso

NDC vice-presidential candidate confirms power-sharing pact with Peter Obi, says presidency will return to North in 2031

LAGOS, Nigeria – The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has confirmed that he and the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, signed a written agreement committing Obi to serve only one four-year term if elected president in 2027.

Kwankwaso disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, where he responded to questions about Obi’s repeated pledge to spend only one term in office. According to him, the agreement provides that power will return to the North after a single four-year tenure of Obi. On whether he believed Obi would honour the agreement, the former Kano State governor said he had no reason to doubt the former Anambra State governor. “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, and we are all gentlemen, even though we have accepted to put it on paper.”

While reiterating that the agreement signed by both of them was sacrosanct, Kwankwaso also said they equally signed a separate agreement with the party on the issue. “We have done one for the party, and we have done another one between the two of us.” Explaining the contents of the agreement, he said: “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.”

On why he accepted the vice-presidential slot, despite previously pursuing the presidency, Kwankwaso said the current political circumstances supported 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 we can move together as a family, both North and South.” When asked if he planned to contest the presidency in 2031, Kwankwaso said the party was focused on its immediate objective while keeping future plans in view. “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.”

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The NDC vice-presidential candidate also revealed that before the 2023 elections, representatives of the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) constituted a joint committee to examine the manifestos and political direction of both parties. He said the committee concluded that both leaders shared similar visions for Nigeria and recommended closer collaboration after the election. “When we compared our blueprint, mine and his, we realised that we have a similar vision and mission for the country. That was why it was very easy for us to agree to work together as a family.” Kwankwaso said the proposed alliance would prioritise tackling insecurity, reviving the economy, rebuilding infrastructure, and improving education, describing insecurity as Nigeria’s most pressing challenge. “Our first priority is insecurity. We also have to address the economy, infrastructure, and education because no country can develop without providing quality education for its citizens.”

Kwankwaso also shared that his assessment of Obi had changed since the 2023 elections, noting that he now considers the former Anambra governor a dependable leader. “I now know that Peter is a very serious politician; he has this country in mind. He is someone to be relied on,” Kwankwaso said.

Recall that Peter Obi had repeatedly declared he would serve only one term of four years if elected president in 2027. “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. Obi has noted that his one-term pledge is rooted in his commitment to the country’s zoning principle rather than a desire to remain in office for the constitutionally permitted two terms. His declaration had drawn criticism from opposition political parties, which argued that the NDC presidential candidate would not keep his promise if elected president in 2027. However, with Kwankwaso’s latest confirmation, the one-term commitment is now formally documented as part of a written political agreement between the NDC leadership and its presidential and vice-presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general election.