Peter Obi’s Bid Isn’t A Gamble – NDC Campaign DG Counters Okorocha

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has dismissed former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha’s criticism of Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term if elected president in 2027.

It described the proposal as a commitment to national stability rather than a political gamble.

This was just as the party’s National Campaign Council Director-General, Ibrahim Hussain Abdulkarim, said Obi’s four-year pledge was constitutional and should be judged by his performance in office.

Abdulkarim stated this while reacting to Okorocha’s recent appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where the former governor questioned the wisdom of Obi’s single-term proposal.

Okorocha had described Obi as a “fantastic gentleman” with a clear understanding of issues but argued that the South-East could not afford to gamble on a four-year presidency.

He maintained that the region should pursue strategic political alliances, disclosing that his support for President Bola Tinubu was based on political calculations rather than emotions or sentiment.

However, Abdulkarim disagreed with Okorocha’s position, citing Section 135(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides for a four-year presidential tenure and allows an incumbent to seek another term.

He argued that the use of the word “may” in the constitutional provision makes a second term optional rather than compulsory.

“On the claim that a single term is ‘a four-year gambling,’ we respectfully disagree,” he said.

The NDC campaign chief also questioned the argument that a longer presidential tenure would necessarily produce better governance, pointing to Nigeria’s experience between 2015 and 2023.

He cited rising inflation, the depreciation of the naira, increasing public debt, widespread poverty and insecurity as evidence of what he described as prolonged tenure without performance.

“Peter Obi’s offer is a performance bond, not a gamble. He has pledged to serve one term, to be judged strictly by results, and to hand over power in 2031 in recognition that it is the turn of the North,” Abdulkarim said.

He described the pledge as a sacrifice for national stability, arguing that leadership should be assessed by achievements rather than the number of years spent in office.

“Leadership is measured by impact, not duration. Nigeria’s problem has never been insufficient time. It has been the repeated failure to use time well,” he added.

Abdulkarim maintained that Obi’s proposed four-year administration would focus on delivering results rather than securing an extension of power.

“When a man entitled to eight years voluntarily chooses four and invites the nation to judge him by results, he is not gambling. He is sacrificing,” he said.

He concluded that Obi’s proposal was a rescue mission with a defined timeline, not a political risk.

Meanwhile, Okorocha, during a separate interview with Arise News, claimed that 90 per cent of Nigerian politicians would not remain in office if genuine democracy were practised in the country.

The former governor accused political power brokers of imposing candidates on voters, arguing that many elected officials did not emerge through the genuine choices of the electorate.

“If democracy is practised the way it should be practised, 90 per cent of people holding office in Nigeria cannot hold office,” he said.

Okorocha made the remarks while reacting to the Federal High Court judgment recognising him as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary for Imo West ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The court directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as the winner of the primary, although Governor Hope Uzodimma has indicated plans to appeal the judgment.

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