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On whose behalf did Peter Obi enter the one-term presidency pact? By Dan Nwomeh The reported and indeed confirmed vow by the presidential candidate of the NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, to serve only one term if elected president in 2027 raises profound political and moral questions from the South East and wider Igbo perspective. Beyond the applause from his zealous followers lies a troubling issue that many Igbo are afraid to ask openly. On whose behalf did Peter Obi enter into a one-term presidency pact for the South East? When did Ndigbo collectively agree that, after decades of exclusion from the sanctum of central executive power in Nigeria, our long-awaited opportunity should come with a self-imposed expiry date of just four years? Since Nigeria's independence in 1960, no Igbo man has occupied the office of Executive President of Nigeria, or whatever other title it may have borne, except during the brief military interregnum of Major General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi, which lasted barely six months. Every other geopolitical zone in Nigeria has produced military or civilian leaders who either served for extended periods or sought to retain power for as long as the constitutional and political arrangements of their time permitted. The North has had multiple opportunities. The North East, which had the first shot under Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, held power from the 1959 federal elections until the January 15, 1966 coup. Balewa sought and won a second mandate in 1964 and remained in office until the coup. The North West has occupied the office the longest, for a combined total of about 22 years (General Murtala Mohammed, President Shehu Shagari, General Muhammadu Buhari, General Sani Abacha, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, and President Buhari), while the North Central has held power for the second-longest period, a combined total of about 17 years and 11 months (General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida, and General Abdulsalami Abubakar). The South West has had its turn too, occupying power for a combined total of about 14 years and 7 months (General Olusegun Obasanjo, President Obasanjo, and President Bola Tinubu), although still counting under Tinubu. (I have deliberately omitted the three-month interim administration of Ernest Shonekan under military oversight, which severely undermined his exercise of full executive authority and control of the machinery of state). The South-South, through President Jonathan, completed President Yar'Adua's first term following his unfortunate demise and secured a fresh full four-year term, making a total of about five years and three months. He still went on to seek another full term thereafter. But when it supposedly comes to the South East's turn, suddenly we are being told that four years is enough. Why? Is the South East deserving only of symbolic occupancy of Aso Rock rather than full participation in power and its attendant benefits like every other zone? Are we merely seeking ceremonial validation rather than real political consolidation and national relevance? These are uncomfortable questions, but they must be asked. A presidency is not won merely for personal glory or emotional satisfaction. Political power, especially in a deeply divided country like Nigeria, is also about long-term strategic positioning for one's region and people. Every region that attained durable influence in Nigeria did so through sustained participation in the national power structure, alliance-building, institutional control, and continuity – advantages that an extended occupancy of the presidency confers and reinforces. So again, on whose authority is Peter Obi entering into a political pact limiting the South East to one term? Did the governors authorize it? Did our elected federal, state, and council representatives endorse it? Did Ohanaeze and the traditional authorities authorize it? Did the business and political elite of the South East, or any strategic think tank within the region,