The political landscape is on fire following a fierce clash between the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, and his former ally and spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo.
Okonkwo, an actor-turned-politician and current chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has openly dared Obi to take him to court after the former Anambra State governor threatened a massive ₦5 billion defamation lawsuit against him.
The legal fireworks began following Okonkwo’s recent appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme. During the broadcast, Okonkwo leveled severe corruption allegations against Obi and the South-East caucus of the NDC.
According to Okonkwo, a House of Representatives aspirant from Anambra State, Obunike Ohaegbu, allegedly sent him receipts proving that Obi and party leaders scammed aspirants by demanding a ₦10 million bribe to secure election tickets.
Okonkwo claimed that despite paying the hefty fee, the aspirants were bypassed, and alleged that Obi manually wrote and submitted a preferred candidate list from a hotel room in Abuja. Okonkwo went on to state that voting for Obi or the NDC was akin to “voting for criminality.”
Reacting swiftly to the broadcast, Peter Obi, through his legal team led by Chief Alex Ejesieme (SAN), issued a pre-action letter dated June 9, 2026.
The legal team accused Okonkwo of making false, malicious, and highly defamatory statements deliberately intended to expose Obi to hatred, ridicule, and contempt, while severely damaging his hard-earned reputation.
Far from backing down, Kenneth Okonkwo dismissed the threat with contempt, daring Obi to follow through with the lawsuit. Speaking on the development, Okonkwo described the legal threat as “unwise” and labeled his former principal a scammer.
”It will be a shame to Peter Obi and his lawyers if they do not take this case to court. I don’t have time or patience for scammers,” Okonkwo fired back.
The fiery politician further warned that a court trial would backfire on Obi, promising to pull back the curtain on hidden party secrets. Okonkwo stated that any legal proceedings would force the disclosure of highly sensitive information he acquired during his time serving as Obi’s spokesperson.
”Anyone who decides to sue his former spokesperson for defamation is indeed very unwise,” Okonkwo added.
This explosive fallout marks the absolute collapse of a once-tight political alliance. Okonkwo was a prominent and fierce defender of Peter Obi during the 2023 presidential election cycle under the Labour Party banner.
However, following a series of party cross-carpets, which saw both men move briefly to the ADC before Obi exited to lead the NDC ahead of the 2027 elections, the relationship has turned toxic.
With Okonkwo refusing to apologize and daring the NDC candidate to sue, the public now awaits Peter Obi’s next move to see if this political drama will officially head to the courtroom.
