The Imo State chapter of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) has rejected any political arrangement allegedly seeking to limit an Igbo presidency to a single four-year term, declaring that Ndigbo will not accept what it described as a “diminished version of justice.”
The group was reacting to reports of a purported agreement involving Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, which allegedly commits Mr Obi to a four-year single term if he emerges president in 2027 under the proposed political arrangement.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its Imo State coordinator, Rt. Hon. Goodluck Opiah, the RHA said the political future of the Igbo people could not be negotiated away by any individual, regardless of his popularity or political standing.
“While we respect the democratic rights of every Nigerian to seek elective office and enter into political alliances, we are compelled to state unequivocally that no individual, regardless of his popularity or political standing, has the authority to negotiate away the political future and aspirations of Ndigbo,” Mr Opiah said.
The group argued that the agitation for a president of Igbo extraction had never been about one politician but was part of a broader demand for equity, fairness, inclusion and equal opportunity in the Nigerian federation. It therefore questioned why the Southeast should accept political conditions that had never been imposed on other regions that produced presidents since the return to democracy in 1999.
“Why should the Southeast be offered what no other zone has been asked to accept?” the RHA asked, noting that former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari each served eight years, while Goodluck Jonathan was also constitutionally entitled to seek re-election.
The organisation said Ndigbo deserved “equality, not exceptions” and “fairness, not concessions,” insisting that the region should not be expected to celebrate a four-year presidential opportunity while other zones had enjoyed the possibility of eight years in office.
The RHA also warned that the Igbo presidential aspiration should not be reduced to the personal ambitions or political calculations of Mr Obi, stressing that the Southeast had millions of accomplished men and women capable of leading Nigeria. It said Mr Obi had the right to make political decisions on his own behalf but could not claim to speak for an entire ethnic nationality.
The group further questioned the legal and political enforceability of the alleged Obi-Kwankwaso agreement, arguing that a presidency designed from inception to last only four years could become preoccupied with succession politics at the expense of governance. It said the reported arrangement appeared to favour the political calculations of Mr Kwankwaso and his supporters more than the long-term interests of Ndigbo.
The RHA urged the Igbo people to look beyond individual politicians and focus on securing equal political rights and opportunities within Nigeria. It commended the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what it described as efforts to deepen inclusion, expand infrastructure, stimulate economic growth and strengthen national unity, while insisting that an Igbo president, whenever elected, should have the same constitutional opportunity to seek a second term based on performance and the verdict of voters. “Ndigbo must never accept a diminished version of justice,” the group said. “Ndigbo cannot trade away the opportunity of an eight-year presidency to a four-year political experiment. Ndigbo must not settle for less.”
