TDThe Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is once again in turmoil as actor-turned-politician Kenneth Okonkwo has accused former ally Peter Obi of masterminding the party’s deepening crises.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV, Okonkwo alleged that Obi deceived aspirants.
He said they made them pay millions of Naira under the guise of transparent primaries, only to later manipulate candidate lists from a hotel in Abuja.
“Anybody who is voting for NDC and Peter Obi is voting for criminality. I will prove it with facts.
“Aspirants were scammed, forced to pay ₦10 million for House of Representatives tickets and ₦20 million for Senate tickets.
“While they fought in the field, Obi was at Johnwood Hotel writing results,” Okonkwo claimed.
He cited the case of Obunike Ohaegbu, an aspirant from Nnewi North, Nnewi South, and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency.
He said Ohaegbu sent him an SOS message detailing how aspirants were extorted and misled.
Observers say the crisis is escalating beyond the South East.
NDC — a Political Gamble — Okonkwo
Ernest Asuelime, a political analyst, noted that tensions between Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso could fracture the party further.
“It may seem as though ‘OK’—Obi and Kwankwaso—may not be OK in the long run if the ‘K’ in OK is not OK,” Asuelime remarked.
He hinted at Kwankwaso’s alleged move to exit the party after his supporters were sidelined.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that NDC leaders in the North West have accused Kwankwaso of attempting to hijack the party.
Pundits decry the reluctance of the party’s supreme leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, to intervene.
They say it has fueled speculation that NDC is more of a political gamble than a serious contender against the ruling APC.
Okonkwo concluded his interview by branding NDC “a national caucus of criminals,” insisting that Obi and other South East leaders were responsible for the alleged fraud.
Disclaimer on Okonkwo’s Vituperations
Noteworthy, however, is the fact that these are allegations made publicly by Kenneth Okonkwo and other commentators.
Peter Obi and the NDC leadership have not issued a formal response at the time of filing this report.
Readers are advised to follow updates from credible sources as the situation develops.
Transcript
Below is a transcript of the interview granted by Kenneth Okonkwo on Channels TV:
Kenneth Okonkwo: “Anybody who is voting for NDC and Peter Obi is voting for criminality. And I will prove it with pacts. I will call names.
“There is one man called Obunike Ohaegbu. The House of Representatives aspirant. Nnewi North and Nnewi South. An Ekwusigo local government from Anambra State. He sent an SOS to me.
“And he said that Peter Obi is now the head of the criminality, that they were scammed in NDC. And he said, Kwankwaso went back to his people and made sure that every constituency produced one candidate so that they would not be scammed.
“But Peter Obi told them that all of them, the aspirant, should go into the field and that they thought they were going to have primaries.
“Remember, Seriake Dickson came out and said, once you pay your expression of interest form, you are not going to pay any money. When you are now the one that is nominated, that’s when they will take nomination fee and all of them ran into it. T
“When Peter Obi and the leaders of the South East now went and told them anybody who wants to be House of Rep person after paying that Expression of Interest must pay 10 million Naira bribe and Senate 20 million Naira bribe. When they were…
Anchorwoman: “Bribed who?”
Kenneth Okonkwo: “Bribe to the NBC and the caucus; they call them caucus leaders in the South East. This was what… he wrote it and sent to me and sent me the receipt. Because they told him he needed money to campaign for his presidency.
“Now, when they doubted they were told individually so they thought they were now the chosen candidate that maybe that is the nomination fee when all of them paid they discovered they were many then we are now told to go into the field for direct primary and when they now went into the field they thought that there was going to be genuine primary.
“And as they were in that field killing themselves, Peter Obi was in John Wood Hotel… He mentioned the hotel… writing the list of candidates, and after that, they submitted it.
“You know what he said? He said, I am not disappointed that I lost the ticket. I am rather disappointed that I invested my time, resources, and reputation in a process that is becoming increasingly opaque and inconsistent with the democratic principles it proclaimed.
“And this is another man from Enugu State. A highly political person sent to me. And you know what he said? He said, I have a direct taste of the fraud called Peter Obi recently in NDC.”
Anchorwoman: “But we must prove that.”
Kenneth Okonkwo: “NCC has become a national dialogue for criminality and a national caucus of criminals.”
Anchorwoman: “Mr. Okonkwo, you do acknowledge that that was the testimony of one person and it’s an allegation. You haven’t investigated that to be able to say you did your own investigation and you found it to be true.”
Kenneth Okonkwo: “Do you know what Aisha said? She said they did not even give me… I’m not talking about level playing ground… they did not give me ground at all. She said it in on TV.
“I’m talking about corroboration; a lot of them have said it and you know why I’m annoyed? You said I didn’t do investigation. I am the leader of ADC in Enugu State.
“The same people we thought that they will not extort the aspirants they are the people that went to NDC and they started exporting the aspirants.
“NDC has come out with a statement trying to distance themselves from what is happening in the South East and they said it is the caucus leaders in the South East that are responsible.
“Peter Obi from Anambra State, Okwesili Nwodo from Enugu State, Ugochukwu Onyema from Abia State, Achike Udenwa from Imo State. And what else is remaining?”
Anchorwoman: “Yeah, but don’t you think that… I mean, I’m not trying to exonerate anyone…”
Kenneth Okonkwo: “You know what I’m telling you? We want to bring new leadership in the South East because of leaders like this. That is why Southeast has been coming last in Nigerian politics.
Southeast people are marginalized in the federal government. We fight to eat. And after that, some of our leaders are calling us and scamming us. I told them that Peter Obi is going to scam them. That is a political con, man. Look at what is happening.”
Anchorwoman: “I’m saying that, you know, again…”
Kenneth Okonkwo: “You will go to diaspora… [speaks in Igbo language] I don’t give shishi. But you collect shishi.”
Anchorwoman: “Mr. Okonkwo, I think it’s important. I think it’s important…”
