Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former spokesperson for the Labour Party presidential campaign, has levelled fresh allegations of bribery and extortion against the leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Okonkwo made the allegations during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday.
Speaking on the programme, Okonkwo claimed that a House of Representatives aspirant from Anambra State contacted him with a distress message detailing what he described as financial exploitation within the NDC’s candidate nomination process.
“Someone in the party told me that Peter Obi told them to pay N10 million bribe to be nominated in the party,” Okonkwo alleged during the interview.
He further claimed that senatorial aspirants were reportedly asked to pay up to N20 million to secure nominations, while House of Representatives aspirants were allegedly required to pay N10 million.
The ADC chieftain also alleged that while many aspirants believed they were participating in genuine primary elections, decisions on the eventual candidates had already been made behind closed doors.
“While they were doing primaries, Peter Obi was in a hotel writing the list of candidates that will win the primaries,” Okonkwo said.
According to him, the alleged incident took place at the John Wood Hotel, where he said lists of preferred candidates were being compiled for submission to the party.
Okonkwo claimed that the allegations were brought to his attention by a House of Representatives aspirant who expressed disappointment after investing time, resources, and effort into a process he believed would be transparent and competitive.
The lawyer argued that such actions, if true, undermine the credibility of internal party democracy and discourage aspiring politicians from participating in future electoral contests.
He further alleged that some aspirants paid for expression of interest forms only to later be instructed to make additional payments before being considered for party tickets.
“The aspirant told me that Peter Obi is now the head of criminality in the party,” Okonkwo said, recounting the distress message he received from the Anambra State aspirant.
When asked during the interview whether he had investigated the allegations to confirm their truth, Okonkwo did not provide evidence of any independent verification he had conducted. Instead, he referred to the experience of activist Aisha Yesufu, who recently confronted the NDC leadership over the party’s handling of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senatorial primary.
He said: “We are talking about corroboration here. Didn’t hear Aisha Yusuf? He quoted Aisha: “I’m not talking about level playing ground, they did not give me ground at all,” Okonkwo said, using the interview platform to pivot to Yesufu’s case as corroboration of his claims about the NDC’s internal processes.
Spear News Nigeria reports that the activist and politician, who is an ally of Peter Obi, had declared her intention to contest the FCT Senate seat on May 6 after joining the NDC from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). However, on May 29, she announced that the party would not be conducting primaries for the seat, effectively ending her bid.
In a statement following the development, Yesufu alleged that the process had been heavily manipulated against her.
“What was billed as a primary was, in truth, a predetermined outcome dressed in procedural formalities. The primaries were repeatedly postponed. Venues were changed at the last minute. Guidelines of the party were not followed,” she said.
The interview, the claims remained Okonkwo’s account of events and were presented as part of his criticism of the NDC’s internal operations.
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