Actor and politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has released what he terms documentary evidence to double down on his corruption allegations against the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, and other Southeast party leaders.
Okonkwo insists that aspirants were pressured into making illicit payments to secure tickets during the party’s primary elections.
The disclosure follows a pre-litigation warning from Obi’s legal team threatening a five-billion-naira defamation lawsuit over claims Okonkwo originally made on Channels Television’s “Sunrise Daily.” In the interview, he claimed that House of Representatives aspirants were coerced into paying a 10 million Naira bribe under Obi’s watch.
Responding through a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, Okonkwo dismissed the legal threats and revealed private conversations with Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC House of Representatives aspirant for the Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency.
Although Ohaegbu reportedly downplayed his accusation of the party in subsequent media appearances, Okonkwo insisted that the aspirant had privately labelled Obi as the chief coordinator of the extortion scheme.
“In all honesty, I cannot even say everything this man told me about Peter Obi just to preserve the remaining of Peter Obi’s tattered reputation. Indeed, I asked him a question when we were discussing orally, ‘are you telling me that Peter Obi is the head of this criminal gang that defrauded you people?’ He answered ‘Peter Obi is the head, stomach, and feet of the criminal gang.’”
Okonkwo shared excerpts from his chat logs with Ohaegbu, which depicted his frustration over the selection process in Anambra State. The correspondence showed the aspirant questioning the legitimacy of a candidate list allegedly compiled by Obi at the Johnwood Hotel in Abuja, noting that it included individuals who had lost or did not participate in the actual primary elections, such as Senator Victor Umeh.
“Please tell me, if a person said that Peter Obi was writing list of aspirants in John Wood Hotel, Abuja, who didn’t win election in NDC, to become candidates for NDC, what else is criminality? He even stated clearly that Peter Obi wrote Senator Victor Umeh’s name as a candidate when he lost.”
To prove his claims regarding the illegal financial demands, Okonkwo highlighted a public statement from the party, explaining that when Ohaegbu questioned the NDC on who authorized the extra 10 million Naira fees for House of Representatives seats and 20 million Naira fees for Senate seats, the national secretariat directed them back to Obi’s state caucus.
“Obunike Ohaegbu, when I questioned him to prove that Peter Obi was responsible for demanding the N10m from him and other HOR aspirants and N20m from the Senate aspirants, he made it clear that when he confronted the Party on who authorised the payment, the party named Peter Obi and the caucus leaders who were assembled by Peter Obi.”
Okonkwo cited earlier policy clarifications made by Senator Seriake Dickson, who maintained that political aspirants are legally required to pay solely for Expression of Interest forms. According to party guidelines, only verified primary winners are permitted to make further nomination payments, rendering any pre-primary financial demands illegitimate.
Demanding an immediate institutional response, the lawyer turned political commentator called on anti-graft and federal security agencies to open a comprehensive investigation into the NDC’s financial administration. He emphasized that his public disclosures are aimed at ensuring full financial restitution for all political aspirants who lost money during the primary cycle.
Let me make it clear that as a citizen and a Lawyer, I have a duty to disclose every crime against the state that comes within my knowledge… The appropriate security agencies and anti-corruption agencies should immediately commence the investigation of this fraud by NDC and its leaders with a view to refunding the aspirants who were defrauded. According to Obunike Ohaegbu, Peter Obi is at the head of this fraud, according to NDC, and he must be investigated.”Nigeria market report.
