Why I dumped Peter Obi for Atiku – Kenneth Okonkwo

Actor-turned-politician Kenneth Okonkwo has explained why he left the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, saying he no longer believed Obi had the qualities needed to lead Nigeria.

Okonkwo, who was one of Obi’s campaign spokespersons during the 2023 presidential election, left the Labour Party in 2024 before joining the African Democratic Congress. He was recently named spokesperson for Atiku’s 2027 presidential campaign.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today shortly after his appointment, Okonkwo said he openly cut ties with Obi in 2024 after concluding that the former Anambra State governor lacked the capacity and decisiveness required to govern the country.

“I’ve seen in him certain qualities that make him unfit to be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I made it public because I was no longer speaking for him,” he said.

Okonkwo said he only began criticising Obi after stepping down from his role as spokesperson, adding that he considered it necessary to publicly inform Nigerians of his decision.

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He further accused Obi of betraying him by instituting a defamation suit over allegations that some House of Representatives aspirants paid bribes, an allegation the former Labour Party presidential candidate has denied.

“He was the one who betrayed me,” Okonkwo said, arguing that the legal action was unnecessary given their former political relationship.

Okonkwo, however, spoke favourably of Atiku, saying the former vice president looked beyond his past criticisms and focused instead on what he could offer the country.

He said Atiku had made it clear to those around him that his interest was in people who could add value to Nigeria, not in revisiting old comments made against him.

“What Atiku Abubakar is looking at is not what you said about him. He is looking at the value you can bring to Nigeria,” he said.

Okonkwo also described Atiku as a politician known for spotting and supporting talent, pointing to several public figures he said had benefited from the former vice president’s backing at different stages of their careers.

On the defamation suit, Okonkwo maintained that he did not defame Obi and said he had documentary evidence to back his claims, which would be presented in court at the appropriate time.