According to a report by The Nation News, on Thursday, July 23, 2026, the conversation surrounding the South-East’s demand for Nigeria’s presidency gained renewed attention after the South-East Leader of the Tinubu Support Organisation (TSO), Dr. George Agbakahi, criticised the reported agreement between Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, to restrict an Obi administration to a single four-year term.
Agbakahi made his position known in a detailed statement titled “The Igbo Presidency and the Politics of Half-Measures: Why Peter Obi’s One-Term Pledge Undermines South-East Aspirations.” In the statement, he argued that such an arrangement, if implemented, would further deepen what he described as the continued political marginalisation of the South-East in Nigeria.
He stressed that after more than sixty years of Nigeria’s independence, the Igbo people deserve the opportunity to complete a full constitutional tenure in the presidency rather than accepting what he described as a symbolic and shortened period in office.
According to him, the South-East has waited long enough and should not be expected to settle for anything less than equal political representation.
Agbakahi recalled that the only time an Igbo held Nigeria’s highest office was during the brief military government of Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi in 1966.
He noted that Ironsi’s administration lasted only about six months before it was brought to an end by the July 1966 counter-coup, making it the shortest period of leadership enjoyed by any major region.
He maintained that while other geopolitical zones have occupied the presidency for extended periods, the South-East has remained largely excluded despite its significant contribution to the country’s development and population.
He argued that the principle of zoning and power rotation was introduced to address such historical imbalances and promote fairness among Nigeria’s diverse regions.
Against this background, Agbakahi questioned the wisdom of any arrangement that would voluntarily deny the South-East the possibility of completing two constitutional terms in office.
He referred to reports that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso disclosed during a Channels Television interview on July 20, 2026, that both men had signed a written agreement limiting Obi to a single tenure before power would return to the North in 2031.
Describing the alleged agreement as politically dangerous, Agbakahi said surrendering the constitutional opportunity for re-election before even assuming office weakens the South-East’s political bargaining power.
He insisted that such a move amounts to giving away one of the strongest advantages enjoyed by an incumbent president, including influence over federal institutions, appointments, security agencies and government resources.
He also pointed out that accepting another shortened period in office after Aguiyi-Ironsi’s six-month administration would leave the South-East with only about four and a half years of leadership across more than six decades of Nigeria’s existence, a situation he described as unacceptable for a major ethnic group.
The TSO leader further raised constitutional concerns over the reported agreement.
He explained that Section 137 of the 1999 Constitution allows an elected president to seek a second term, adding that no private political understanding can override the provisions of the Constitution.
He questioned how such an agreement would be enforced since no sanctions, succession procedures or legal mechanisms have been publicly presented.
Agbakahi also reflected on Peter Obi’s political journey, noting that he had moved from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then to the Labour Party, later the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and subsequently the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to him, each transition came with assurances of commitment, raising questions about long-term political consistency.
Rather than embracing what he described as a limited presidential arrangement, Agbakahi urged the South-East to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He argued that the current administration has introduced major economic reforms aimed at repositioning Nigeria despite existing economic difficulties.
Drawing lessons from the South-West, Agbakahi said the Yoruba political class demonstrated strategic patience by supporting Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential ambition in 2015, a move he believes later benefited the region politically.
He said, “That alliance produced eight years of northern leadership. When power shifted to the South again in 2023, it returned to a Yoruba president. This was political reciprocity at work…See_More
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