Obi betrayed me, Atiku saw value in me, says Kenneth Okonkwo

Nollywood actor and politician Kenneth Okonkwo has accused Peter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, of betrayal, while stating that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recognized his value despite past criticisms.

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As a public affairs analyst that I have been from 2009 before I ever met Peter Obi, I proceeded with my job. You were one of the earliest interviewers that interviewed me in July 2024 when I said I wasn’t speaking for him anymore because he’s not decisive.

Okonkwo, who previously served as Obi's spokesperson for the Labour Party, made these remarks on Channels Television's Politics Today. He announced his departure from Obi's camp in 2024, citing Obi's alleged lack of decisiveness as a disqualifying trait for leading Nigeria. "He was the one who betrayed me," Okonkwo declared, emphasizing that he had publicly ended his association with Obi.

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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. By then, I had finished my job with him. But in order for the people to know that I am not speaking for him anymore, I made it public, and I went my own way, and I was doing my own job. He was the one who betrayed me.

In contrast, Okonkwo described Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress's 2027 presidential candidate, as a leader who sees potential. Okonkwo revealed that Abubakar overlooked his past criticisms, focusing instead on his "tenacity to bring about a great Nigeria." He recounted how Abubakar insisted on bringing him into his campaign, seeing value in his contributions.

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I talked about Atiku Abubakar here in this studio much more than I would even talk about Peter Obi. And people were telling Atiku Abubakar, ‘This young man that is getting close to you, are you aware of what he said to you?’ Atiku Abubakar said, ‘I am looking at this young man, I am seeing the value in him, and his tenacity to bring about a great Nigeria. That is what I am seeing. And if I have the opportunity, I will bring him in to bring that value to Nigeria.’

Okonkwo highlighted Abubakar's track record of identifying talent, citing figures like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Charles Soludo, and El-Rufai. He suggested that Abubakar's focus is on the value individuals bring to nation-building rather than past disagreements. This appointment comes amidst an ongoing legal dispute, where Okonkwo had accused Obi and others of accepting bribes, leading Obi to file a defamation suit seeking N5 billion in damages.

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Look at a man, a talent discoverer that discovered Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that discovered Professor Charles Soludo, that discovered El-Rufai. What Atiku Abubakar is looking at is not what you said about him because he knows that his desire for Nigeria is not about him, but what value are you bringing in? I had not even done anything for Atiku Abubakar, but he insisted, ‘I’ve seen something in this young man.’