- Peter Obi has threatened legal action against former ally Kenneth Okonkwo over allegations that he collected ₦10 million from aspirants seeking party tickets. Obi described the claims as defamatory and is demanding a public retraction, apology, and ₦5 billion in damages.
- The controversy intensified after aspirant Obunike Ohaegbu publicly denied ever accusing Obi of collecting money from him. Obi has now given Okonkwo seven days to comply with his demands or face court action.
The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has threatened legal action against his former ally and campaign spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, over allegations that he collected bribes from party aspirants seeking election tickets.
The dispute began after Okonkwo, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, alleged that Obi and members of the NDC’s South-East caucus demanded ₦10 million from House of Representatives aspirants in exchange for party tickets. He also claimed that an aspirant from Anambra State, Obunike Ohaegbu, had accused Obi of collecting the money before directing aspirants to participate in party primaries rather than receiving automatic tickets.
Okonkwo further alleged that Obi compiled and submitted a list of candidates from a hotel in Abuja, describing the process as criminal and lacking transparency.
However, the allegations were publicly denied by Ohaegbu, who appeared on the same programme and stated that Obi never requested ₦10 million from him and that he never made such claims to Okonkwo.
“I am telling you that Peter Obi never told me to pay ₦10 million. I never told Kenneth Okonkwo that Peter Obi, in any way, told me to pay ₦10 million,” Ohaegbu said.
In response, Obi, through a pre-action letter signed by his lawyer, Alex Ejesieme (SAN), described the allegations as false, reckless, and damaging to his reputation. The former Anambra State governor argued that the statements portrayed him as an extortionist, fraudster, and participant in criminal activities.
Obi is demanding that Okonkwo immediately retract the allegations, issue a public apology on Channels Television and across his social media platforms, and pay ₦5 billion as compensation for the alleged damage caused by the claims.
The letter also requested a written undertaking that similar allegations would not be repeated in the future.
According to Obi’s legal team, failure to comply with the demands within seven days would leave him with no option but to seek legal redress in court.
