ADC Chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo has criticised former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, accusing him of failing to adequately defend what he described as a stolen electoral victory following the 2023 presidential election.
Okonkwo made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television aired on Thursday, May 14, 2026, while discussing his political relationship with Obi and his reasons for leaving the Labour Party movement.
Speaking during the interview, the ADC chieftain alleged that Obi’s supporters had attempted to create the impression that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was unqualified to lead the country.
“Then from nowhere, in 2027, after Atiku had brought you out to national politics, you are now creating the impression with your toxic followers that Atiku is not qualified to be president. That Atiku is this and that,” Okonkwo stated.
When the interviewer asked whether he believed Obi had “toxic followers,” Okonkwo responded strongly. “Very very street urchins,” he said. The presenter then noted that Okonkwo himself had once been part of Obi’s political movement, prompting the former Labour Party spokesperson to explain his reasons for leaving. “You are one of them,” the interviewer remarked. “I was. Why did I leave?” Okonkwo replied.
According to him, he initially supported Obi after conducting his own independent assessment of the major presidential contenders ahead of the 2023 election. “I told you that in 2023, before I even came into the campaign, I had never sat down with Peter Obi to discuss. And I read up about him, I read up about Atiku Abubakar,” he said.
Okonkwo explained that his support for Obi was also influenced by his personal belief that power should return to the southern region of the country. “I wanted somebody from the south to be president. And of course, I campaigned and I believe we won that election,” he stated.
The ADC chieftain, however, said his relationship with Obi changed after the election outcome and the legal battle that followed. “After winning the election, what happened? He could not secure his own victory. And that was when I knew that I had a problem with this person,” Okonkwo said.
He further disclosed the level of commitment he personally invested in the legal and political struggle following the election. “I spent around 240 days about that in the court. I spent almost two years campaigning,” he stated.
Okonkwo concluded by expressing disappointment over what he described as Obi’s inability to make sufficient sacrifices to defend the alleged mandate. “And after we believed that we won, and you could not make any sacrifice to secure your own winning,” he added…Read More
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