The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, has disclosed that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, signed a written agreement committing to serve only a single four-year term if elected president in 2027.
Kwankwaso made the revelation during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, stating that the arrangement was designed to ensure that power returns to Northern Nigeria after Obi’s tenure in line with the party’s power-sharing formula.
The former Kano State governor said he was confident that Obi would honour the agreement, describing their relationship as one built on trust and mutual understanding.
“Oh yes, I personally believe him. I don’t think, based on what I now know about him, that he will change his mind when the time comes. We are all gentlemen,” Kwankwaso said.
Responding to questions on whether the understanding had been formally documented, the NDC vice-presidential candidate confirmed that both the party and the two candidates signed separate agreements.
“We have done one for the party, and we have done another one between the two of us,” he stated.
According to Kwankwaso, the agreement stipulates that Obi would serve from 2027 to 2031 before the presidency rotates back to the North.
“The agreement is what you said, that for four years, we will work together, team together as a group, party, friends and brothers so that after his term of four years (2027–2031), it comes back to the North. That is the general agreement,” he explained.
Kwankwaso said his decision to accept the vice-presidential slot was informed by a shared conviction that the South should retain the presidency for only one term before power shifts northward.
“Together we felt that the presidency should go to the South for four years; thereafter it will come back to the North.
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“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 added.
On his political ambitions beyond 2027, Kwankwaso said the party was currently focused on securing victory at the polls 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, arguing that such an arrangement would foster political stability and national cohesion.
“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.
The NDC has consistently defended its zoning arrangement, portraying the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket as a consensus platform intended to balance regional interests ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
