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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Imo State chapter of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) has rejected a reported agreement that would commit Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, to a single four-year term if elected in 2027, describing it as an attempt to reduce “Igbo presidential aspiration to a four-year experiment.”
The RHA Coordinator in Imo State , Rt. Hon Goodluck Opiah, in a statement issued yesterday, said no individual has the authority to “negotiate away the political future and aspirations of Ndigbo.”
“We reject any arrangements that reduces Igbo presidential aspiration to a four-year experiment. Ndigbo must not settle for less,” the group stated.
He continued: “Why should Southeast accept what no other zone was asked to accept?” RHA argued that since 1999, every zone that produced a president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President Muhammadu Buhari, and President Goodluck Jonathan, enjoyed the constitutional right to seek two terms.
“No zone was asked to surrender its political future or sign away its constitutional rights before assuming office. Why then should an Igbo candidate be required to do so?” the group asked.
The group said the Igbo quest for the presidency “has never been about any particular individual” but is rooted in “equity, fairness, inclusion, and a sense of belonging.”
Limiting it to one term, it added, raises “fundamental questions about fairness, equity, and the value placed on the region.”
Referencing reports of an alleged Obi/Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso arrangement ahead of 2027, RHA said the deal “appears to favour the political calculations of Mr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his supporters far more than it advances the long-term interests of Ndigbo.”
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“Peter Obi is entitled to his political choices, but his choices do not automatically become the collective position of Ndigbo,” the statement read. “Peter Obi does not possess a mandate from the Igbo people to negotiate, limit, or mortgage the political future of the Southeast.”
The group also questioned the enforceability of such an agreement, asking what “legal or constitutional force it carries.”
“A presidency designed for four years risks becoming lame-duck”.
RHA warned that a presidency deliberately limited to four years would struggle to deliver, with “succession battles overshadowing governance and national development.”
“Political power is not merely about occupying an office. Real leadership requires sufficient time to implement policies, strengthen institutions, build consensus and deliver transformational development,” the group said.
It urged Ndigbo to pursue advancement through “strategic engagement, constructive participation, and sustained partnership within the national mainstream,” citing ongoing efforts under President Bola Tinubu to “deepen inclusion, expand infrastructure, stimulate economic growth, and strengthen national unity.”
The group concluded that Ndigbo “are not second-class citizens” and are entitled to the same opportunities as other zones.
“If an Igbo son is qualified to lead Nigeria, then he is qualified to enjoy the same constitutional rights and political opportunities enjoyed by every president before him. Ndigbo cannot trade away the opportunity of an eight-year presidency to a four-year political experiment,” Opiah said.
