African Democratic Congress (ADC) leader Kenneth Okonkwo has asserted that votes cast for Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi in the 2027 general election could ultimately benefit President Bola Tinubu.
In an interview with Symfoni TV on Wednesday, Okonkwo made the claim and stressed that in order to overthrow the president, opposition forces must unite around a single political platform.
He claimed that a split opposition would only make Tinubu more likely to win another term in office.
He clarified that endorsing various opposition candidates would be equivalent to subtly bolstering the ruling party.
“The reason I said it is that either you’re working for Tinubu directly, in other words, you’re in APC, or you’re working for Tinubu indirectly because when you divide the votes of the coalition and the opposition, you’re still making Tinubu better placed to win,” he said.
Obi’s alleged withdrawal from ADC coalition talks was also criticised by Okonkwo, who said that the former governor of Anambra was unwilling to take part in a competitive primary election.
“Nobody forced Peter Obi to enter ADC. He entered on his own, and one week to the end of the closure of the time, he left and gave the reason,” he said.
He added that political ambition requires endurance, arguing that avoiding internal party competition is not ideal for someone seeking national leadership.
“You can’t compete in a primary and you want to be a politician. You want to be the president of a challenged country, and you’re running away from challenge,” he said.
Okonkwo further alleged that Senator Victor Umeh had once suggested that the South-East’s best chance of producing a president would be through a political alliance with northern leaders.
“When we were all entering ADC, Victor Umeh made it clear and spoke to me directly that the only chance the Igbo people have is to align with the North and for our brother Peter Obi to be a vice president,” he said.
He also claimed that Umeh believed Obi was resistant to political persuasion.
“I told him, ‘Have you told Obi?’ He said yes, but that Peter Obi is very stubborn. That if you tell him anything, he would not believe but would continue to try,” Okonkwo added.
Concluding, Okonkwo urged opposition supporters to consider the implications of vote splitting ahead of the 2027 elections, warning that it could favour the ruling party.
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