By Eshioromeh Sebastian
Kenneth Okonkwo, the Nollywood actor turned politician, has publicly withdrawn his backing for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, citing dissatisfaction with the choice of Rotimi Amaechi as the ADC’s vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was made public on Monday via Okonkwo’s official X handle, shortly after the African Democratic Congress unveiled its presidential ticket, with Atiku at the helm and Amaechi—a former Rivers State governor and ex-transport minister—as his deputy.
In his post, Okonkwo did not hide his displeasure, describing the ticket as a slight against the South-East, a region he insists has been systematically shut out of Nigeria’s top political offices since the advent of the current democratic dispensation.
He argued that the South-East has long been treated as an afterthought in the nation’s power-sharing calculus, and the latest move by the ADC only reinforces that troubling pattern.
“It is deeply troubling that a party founded by a South-Easterner would turn around and deny that same region a place on its presidential ticket,” Okonkwo wrote, referencing Ralphs Nwosu, who established the ADC in 2005.
According to Okonkwo, Nwosu’s decision to relinquish control of the party in 2025 for the sake of coalition building was a sacrificial act—not a mandate to sideline his own people. He warned that rewarding such sacrifice with exclusion would be a grave injustice.
The former Labour Party campaign spokesman also disclosed that he had personally appealed to Atiku to use his vice-presidential slot as a gesture of inclusion toward the South-East. That appeal, he said, appears to have been ignored.
“My involvement in politics has never been about personal gain. It has always been about fairness and equal representation,” Okonkwo said. “I cannot in good conscience campaign for a ticket that leaves my people out in the cold.”
He concluded by stating unequivocally that he would not throw his weight behind any presidential ticket in 2027 that does not feature a South-Easterner in either the number one or number two position.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Atiku Abubakar nor the ADC leadership had responded to Okonkwo’s remarks. However, political observers are already describing the development as a potential flashpoint for the coalition, with some questioning whether other aggrieved stakeholders from the region might follow suit.
The ADC had hoped that the Atiku-Amaechi pairing would bring together key political blocs from the North and South-South, but Okonkwo’s exit suggests that winning over the South-East may prove more difficult than anticipated.
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