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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

If Makinde is qualified, why not support him, Okonkwo asks Obi

From Vanguard · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s African Democratic Congress campaign, questioned Peter Obi’s support for Seyi Makinde after Obi attended Makinde’s campaign office launch.
  • Okonkwo said Obi’s description of Makinde as qualified for the presidency did not establish a meaningful alliance between the two politicians.
  • He challenged Obi to support Makinde directly instead of pursuing his own presidential bid.

Peter Obi’s appearance at Seyi Makinde’s campaign office launch has prompted a pointed question from Kenneth Okonkwo: if Obi believes the Oyo governor is qualified to become president, why does he not support him?

Okonkwo, spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign on the African Democratic Congress platform, raised the issue on Arise TV while discussing what some observers have described as a possible alliance between Obi and Makinde ahead of the 2027 election.

I wish I can help you to say it, could be that Peter Obi is offering any alliance, but unfortunately, being very honest, I can’t say it.

· Kenneth OkonkwoHe questioned whether Peter Obi’s attendance at Makinde’s campaign launch represented a political alliance.

Makinde, who is running for president under the Allied Peoples Movement, opened his campaign office in Abuja on Monday. Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, attended the event and described Makinde as qualified to contest the presidency.

Even if you invite him for a naming ceremony or for a wedding ceremony, he will still be there, waving at the crowd, even if there is no crowd, he’ll wave at trees.

· Kenneth OkonkwoHe mocked the idea that Obi’s presence at an event necessarily indicated an alliance.

Okonkwo questioned whether that appearance amounted to any real political partnership. “I wish I can help you to say it, could be that Peter Obi is offering any alliance, but unfortunately, being very honest, I can’t say it,” he said. He recalled that Obi had previously been linked to the ADC before leaving shortly before its presidential primary.

He also mocked the significance of Obi’s attendance at political events, saying it should not automatically be read as an alliance. Okonkwo then asked why Obi had not supported Makinde from the outset if he genuinely believed Makinde was qualified, rather than going to the electoral commission and telling supporters he planned to contest for president.

If you believe that Seyi Makinde is qualified, why didn’t you support him?

· Kenneth OkonkwoHe challenged Obi to explain why he was not backing Makinde’s presidential bid.
About this summary

Originally published by Vanguard in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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