Zoning, Age May Stop Me From Contesting In 2031 – Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has said the possibility of contesting for the presidency again in 2031 is “very slim.”

Obi said his decision would largely depend on the outcome of the 2027 general election and the informal power-rotation arrangement between northern and southern Nigeria.

The former Anambra State governor disclosed this during an interview with media personality Rufai Oseni, while responding to a question on whether he would make another attempt at the presidency should he lose the 2027 election.

Obi said it was difficult to give a definite answer before the 2027 election, noting that political developments and the region expected to produce the next president would influence his decision.

“For me, it depends on what happens. I don’t want to say it because people might think that I’m saying it because of some people,” he said.

He recalled that a secondary school student had recently asked whether he would contest again after the 2027 poll.

Obi said, “You will not believe it, this morning a secondary school boy asked me a question, ‘If you run this time, will you run again?’ And I said no. He asked why?”

According to him, the country’s zoning arrangement could see the presidency move to the North in 2031 if a southerner occupies the position after the 2027 election.

Explaining why another presidential bid might be unlikely, Obi said he would be about 78 years old by the time power returned to the South after a possible northern presidency.

“I said because if I don’t run now, by the next time it comes, believing in the zoning formula, it will go to the North, and if it goes North in 2031, by the time it comes again to the South, I will be 78 years old, and I don’t think I would be doing this at that age,” he said.

The former governor’s calculation appears to assume that a northern president elected in 2031 would serve two four-year terms before the presidency returned to the South.

He, however, stressed that the situation remained uncertain, as the outcome of the 2027 election would determine the direction of subsequent political negotiations.

Obi did not completely rule out contesting in 2031, saying he could reconsider if the presidency remained in the South during that election cycle.

“If it’s still in the South in the next election, maybe, but the probability is very slim. I don’t know until after the outcome of the 2027 election,” he added.

His remarks suggest that the 2027 election could be his last presidential contest if he is unsuccessful and the major political parties agree to shift their tickets to the North four years later.

Nigeria’s Constitution does not mandate the rotation of the presidency between the North and the South. However, zoning has remained an influential political arrangement used by parties and political leaders to promote regional inclusion and manage competing interests.

Obi, who finished third in the 2023 presidential election, secured the NDC presidential nomination for the 2027 poll after leaving an opposition coalition formed around the African Democratic Congress.

The former governor maintained that his immediate attention remained on the 2027 contest rather than a possible future campaign.

He said any decision concerning 2031 would only be taken after Nigerians had voted and the political direction of the country became clearer.