Kenneth Okonkwo Accuses Peter Obi, South-East NDC Leaders of ‘Bribery’ During Primaries

Nollywood actor-turned-politician Kenneth Okonkwo has made fresh allegations against Peter Obi and leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in the South-East over the conduct of the party’s recent primary elections.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Okonkwo alleged that aspirants seeking tickets under the party were forced to pay huge sums of money during the primaries.

The former Labour Party spokesperson, who is now a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, claimed that an aspirant from Anambra State contacted him with what he described as an “SOS message” exposing alleged irregularities within the party.

According to Okonkwo, the aspirant — identified as Obunike Ohaegbu — had sought to contest for the Nnewi North and Nnewi South Federal Constituency seat under the NDC platform.

He alleged that the aspirant accused party leaders of misleading contestants into believing they would emerge through transparent primaries, only for candidates to allegedly be handpicked behind closed doors.

“Peter Obi is now the head of the criminality that they were scammed in NDC,” Okonkwo claimed the aspirant told him.

The politician further alleged that while supporters of Rabiu Kwankwaso allegedly streamlined their candidates to avoid disputes, aspirants aligned with Obi were encouraged to participate fully in the primaries before being asked to make additional payments.

Okonkwo claimed aspirants who had already purchased expression of interest forms were later allegedly asked to pay ₦10 million for House of Representatives tickets and ₦20 million for Senate slots.

He also alleged that while primary elections were ongoing, names of preferred candidates were allegedly being compiled elsewhere.

“The aspirant sent me the receipt of the money,” he added during the interview.

Neither Peter Obi nor the leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has officially responded to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.

The claims come amid rising political tension and internal disagreements within several parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.