The former Labour Party presidential campaign spokesman, Kenneth Okonkwo has refuted claims of disloyalty to the party’s president candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi.
He insisted that his exit from the party was transparent and principled, not a betrayal.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Okonkwo responded to what he described as subtle insinuations from the former Anambra State governor suggesting he had been unfaithful to the Labour Party cause.
“When I worked for him, I never consulted any politician, I never talked with any political party. I was 100 percent loyal, not 99,” Okonkwo stated firmly.
“When I left, I told the whole world. I said, from now onwards, I am not going to speak for this person again.”
Dismissing any suggestion of subterfuge, the Nollywood actor added: “They don’t understand what betrayal means. Anybody writing anything against me is a reflection of who that person is, not a reflection of who I am.”
Now a member of the newly formed National Opposition Coalition Group (NOCG), Okonkwo is part of a political alignment seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and reshape Nigeria’s political structure by 2027.
The group has submitted an application to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register a new party, the All Democratic Alliance (ADA).
Rejecting any notions of zoning the party’s presidential ticket along regional lines, Okonkwo insisted that both Northern and Southern aspirants would be free to vie for the ticket.
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“Nobody is going to stop anybody from contesting for the presidential ticket in the coalition, nobody,” he said.
He further argued that zoning, under current conditions, may inflame rather than resolve national tensions.
Instead, he advocated a single six-year presidential tenure, asserting that it could curtail political manipulation and regional grievances.
“Politicians have shown it’s very difficult to trust them,” Okonkwo noted.
“If you say someone from the South will do four years but then underperform like Tinubu, what next? The North will call it injustice if another Southerner stays eight years. We need to throw the ticket open and let the best candidate emerge.”
In a scathing critique, Okonkwo labeled the Tinubu administration as “the worst in Nigeria’s history,” saying it has deepened national suffering more than even the controversial tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I never believed any government would surpass Buhari’s in failure, but Tinubu’s has done that,” he said.
He specifically condemned the administration’s decision to float the naira without stabilizing key economic fundamentals. “Floating the naira was a terrible thing to do. We should have strengthened our currency by boosting exports, not opening the floodgates to import-driven collapse.”
The emerging coalition is a mix of familiar names and fresh alliances. Chaired by former Senate President David Mark, the group also includes former Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi, among other influential political actors.
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