Peter Obi supporters tackle Kenneth Okonkwo over negative comments

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Kenneth Okonkwo

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By Madu Obi

Supporters of Peter Obi, the Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate, have criticized the party's former campaign spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo over allegations of betrayal comment against the former governor of Anambra State.

Okonkwo had alleged that Obi abandoned him after the 2023 elections and aligned with a faction of the Labour Party led by Julius Abure, despite repeated warnings.

He was quoted as saying that “Any politician who knows what he is doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anyone who betrayed the other, I can say emphatically that Peter Obi betrayed me.”

He claimed that he cautioned Obi against the Abure-led faction of the LP, citing a lack of internal democracy and alleged deceit regarding the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recognition of the group.

“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them, and Obi surreptitiously went back to them. I told him, Sir, even if INEC has accepted them, you should not return to a group that has proven to be undemocratic.,” Okonkwo stated.

Responding via his X handle, Nana Sani Kazaure, a former spokesperson for the Obi-Datti campaign organization dismissed Okonkwo’s claims and questioned his integrity.

She wrote: “Since when did one’s refusal to shed the blood of Nigerians on the streets become betrayal? Did former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan also betray Nigerians when he said the blood of Nigerians was worth more than his political ambition?

Given Mr. Okonkwo’s association with Peter Obi in recent years, who can truly be called a traitor in these circumstances?”

Kazaure added that she had no doubt Okonkwo would be confronted daily both publicly and privately by the overwhelming disapproval of the people regarding his recent choices, outbursts, and internal conflicts.

National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yinusa Tanko also responded, dismissing Okonkwo’s remarks as a distraction intended to derail Obi’s growing momentum.

“Obi is coming. No distractions. No conspiracy. No misrepresentation can stop the moving train. A new Nigeria is possible,” Tanko wrote.

National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) and a staunch Obi supporter, Peter Ameh, described Okonkwo’s criticisms as part of a broader political agenda.

“These scathing attacks are not merely coincidental; there is more to them than appears on the surface,” Ameh wrote.