Kalu says South-East should get eight-year presidency, not four
- Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu said the Igbo should serve eight years when the presidency rotates to the South-East.
- He spoke at an APC women's rally in Enugu on Saturday.
- The remark follows Peter Obi's pledge to serve only one four-year term if elected.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu has said the South-East should be given a full eight-year presidency when power rotates to the zone, arguing that the Igbo cannot wait 60 years for a single four-year term.
Kalu spoke on Saturday at a women's rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu, according to Daily Post and Naija News.
His comments come after Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), said he would serve only one term of four years if elected.
What Kalu said
Kalu said some people were going around claiming an agreement had been reached that the Igbo would get the presidency for four years only.
"We can't wait 60 years just to be president for four years," he said.
He added that when the presidency rotates to the South-East, the zone should get a complete eight-year tenure, the same as other regions that have produced presidents.
He also said the Igbo had been promised things in the past that never came true.
Why it matters
The debate touches on zoning, the informal arrangement that has rotated the presidency between the North and the South, and on whether the South-East should be next in line.
Kalu's position puts him at odds with Obi's stated plan of a single four-year term.
