In a post shared on his Facebook page on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Ossai said he finds the pledge difficult to believe.
According to him, any president who gets into office is likely to face pressure from supporters and political allies to seek a second term.
He argued that Obi would find it difficult to resist such calls if he eventually wins the presidential election, claiming that the former Anambra State governor is someone who easily bows to pressure.
Ossai said, "Peter Obi’s one-term pledge is difficult for anyone to believe. If he becomes president, he would likely face intense pressure from his Igbo support base to seek a second term.
Given he succumbs to pressure easily, it’s reasonable to expect he would hardly resist that pressure."
Ossai also maintained that a one-term presidency is unrealistic in Nigeria's political environment, where incumbent presidents who are constitutionally qualified for re-election rarely choose to leave office after a single term.
His comments come weeks after the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) adopted Obi as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
At the party's special convention held on May 30, 2026, the NDC endorsed a zoning arrangement that reserved the presidential ticket for the South for a single four-year term.
The party said the decision was aimed at promoting fairness, preserving internal unity and preventing the kind of zoning disputes that have affected other political parties in the past.
Under the arrangement, the presidency is expected to return to the North in 2031.
Despite the party's position, Ossai insisted that political realities could make it difficult for such an agreement to be upheld if Obi eventually becomes president, arguing that the pressure for a second-term bid would likely be difficult to ignore.
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