Actor and politician Kenneth Okonkwo has released what he describes as documentary evidence to support his allegations against Peter Obi and some Southeast leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The development follows a pre-litigation notice from Obi’s legal team, which threatened a ₦5 billion defamation lawsuit over comments Okonkwo made on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he alleged that House of Representatives aspirants were pressured to pay ₦10 million under Obi’s watch.
In a series of posts on X, Okonkwo dismissed the legal threat and shared details of conversations he claimed to have had with Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC House of Representatives aspirant for Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency.
According to Okonkwo, Ohaegbu privately made allegations against Obi despite later downplaying them in public interviews. He quoted Ohaegbu as allegedly saying Obi was “the head, stomach, and feet of the criminal gang.”
Okonkwo also shared excerpts of chat messages in which Ohaegbu allegedly questioned a candidate list reportedly compiled at Johnwood Hotel in Abuja. He claimed the list included individuals who either lost or did not participate in the primary election, including Senator Victor Umeh.
On the issue of financial demands, Okonkwo alleged that aspirants were asked to pay ₦10 million for House of Representatives tickets and ₦20 million for Senate tickets. He claimed Ohaegbu told him that when aspirants sought clarification, party officials referred them to Obi and Southeast caucus leaders.
Citing comments previously made by Senator Seriake Dickson that only Expression of Interest forms should attract payment before primaries, Okonkwo called on anti-corruption and security agencies to investigate the allegations and ensure refunds for any affected aspirants.
Obi has denied the allegations through his legal representatives.
