NDC defends Obi’s single-term pledge, dismisses Okorocha’s ‘gambling’ claim

By Henry Umoru The National Leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC has thrown its weight behind the single-term presidential pledge by its Presidential candidate ahead of January 16 2027. Peter Obi. The NDC described describing it as a constitutional commitment to performance, national stability and leadership accountability rather than a political gamble, adding that Obi had voluntarily offered to serve only one term, subjecting his leadership to public assessment based on results rather than political calculations.

The party noted that Nigeria’s experience with an eight-year presidential administration between 2015 and 2023 demonstrated that longevity in office did not automatically translate into improved governance or national development, adding that the period was characterised by rising inflation, naira depreciation, increasing public debt, widespread poverty and insecurity In a statement signed on Friday by NDC Director-General of the National Presidential Campaign Council, NPCC, Mallam Ibrahim Hussain Abdulkarim, the party disagreed with Okorocha’s characterisation of the pledge as “a four-year gambling”, insisting that the proposal was constitutionally permissible and represented a deliberate commitment to deliver measurable results within four years. According to him, Section 135(2) of the 1999 Constitution provides for a four-year presidential tenure with the possibility of seeking another term, arguing that the provision does not make a second term compulsory. The leadership of the NDC was reacting to comments by former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he described Obi as “a fantastic gentleman; clear in his head” but questioned the viability of his proposed…