A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, Kenneth Okonkwo, has published what he described as supporting material for his bribery allegations against the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, Peter Obi.
Okonkwo, a lawyer and former Nollywood actor, had earlier accused Obi and some leaders of the NDC in the South-East of demanding payments from aspirants seeking legislative tickets. He alleged that House of Representatives hopefuls were asked to pay N10 million, while senatorial aspirants were required to provide N20 million.
The claims have triggered a legal dispute, with Obi’s legal team issuing a formal demand for N5 billion in damages and a public retraction.
In fresh developments, Okonkwo shared screenshots of purported WhatsApp conversations, which he said were exchanged between him and an aspirant, Obunike Ohaegbu, to substantiate the allegations.
According to Okonkwo, the aspirant allegedly indicated that party officials linked the payments to Obi and a group of caucus leaders. He further suggested that the candidate selection process lacked transparency, raising concerns over how party tickets were determined.
In one of the messages attributed to the aspirant, dissatisfaction was expressed over the absence of consultations and the perceived inconsistency between primary elections and the emergence of candidates.
See the chats below:
Okonkwo defended his decision to make the information public, stating that he had a professional and civic obligation to expose alleged wrongdoing.
He also dismissed the demands issued by Obi’s lawyers, noting that he would respond formally after reviewing the legal correspondence.
The dispute marks a significant escalation in the rift between both men, who were previously political allies but have since parted ways following Obi’s move from the ADC to the NDC.
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