The 2027 Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi has hinted on why he might not contest in 2031.

Stressing that the possibility is very slim, Obi said the zoning arrangement between the North and the South would play a major factor in deciding if he would contest in 2031.

In an interview with media personality, Rufai Oseni, Obi explained that if the presidency goes to the North in 2031, he would be 78-years-old when power will return to the South, hence can’t run again.

Asked if he would run for the presidency again if he loses in 2027, Obi said: “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.

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

“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.”

The former Anambra State governor, however, noted that if power remains in the South in 2027, he might contest for the presidency in 2031.

“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.

Indigenes of Osun State in the diaspora, under the auspices of the Osun Development Association (ODA), have declared that the governorship candidates of political parties contesting in the forthcoming election in the state will sign a peace accord ahead of the poll.

ODA noted that this is necessary in view of the prevailing situation in the state and to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

The group explained that the current governor and Accord candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke; the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr Bola Oyebamiji; the Action Alliance candidate, Olanrewaju Farinloye; the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam; the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate, Esan Olajide; and other candidates will sign the peace pact.

Chairman of ODA’s Leadership and Governance Committee, Dr Tunji Olugbodi, made the declaration in a statement heralding the planned summit where candidates of the political parties will sign the peace accord to prevent violence before, during and after the election.

Olugbodi, in the statement made available to DAILY POST on Monday evening, explained that the state is currently at a critical democratic crossroads.

He said the summit, with the theme, “Speak, Choose, Hold Accountable: Citizens at the Centre of Osun’s Democracy,” is billed to take place in Osogbo because it is necessary to commit all the major stakeholders to a peaceful electoral process.

Olugbodi added that the group believes the state can set a national benchmark for peaceful, credible elections.

The summit is expected to bring all stakeholders in the electoral process under one roof to chart a way forward in order to prevent any uncertainty before, during and after the election.

Olugbodi said, “Osun State is at a critical democratic crossroads. The Osun Development Association (ODA) has finalised arrangements to host the Osun 2026 Democratic Governance, Peace and Electoral Integrity Summit, a high-level civic intervention designed to steer the state’s political discourse toward issue-based campaigning and away from rising tension ahead of the August governorship election.”

ODA Chairman, Dr Segun Aina, in his contribution, noted that the collective participation of all stakeholders is necessary for the forthcoming election.