Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, has released alleged WhatsApp conversations with an aspirant to support his claims that Peter Obi and South-East leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress demanded millions of naira from candidates during party primaries.
Okonkwo, a former spokesperson for the Obi-Datti 2023 presidential ticket, shared screenshots of the chats on his X account on Wednesday.
He quoted aspirant Obunike Ohaegbu as saying the process left him feeling “deceived and profoundly disappointed,” noting that unlike other regions, Anambra aspirants were not invited to any consensus meetings.
Ohaegbu reportedly questioned how a candidate list was produced at a hotel in Abuja while primaries were held.
“If aspirants were directed to participate in primaries while candidate lists were allegedly being prepared elsewhere, then serious questions arise about the integrity of the entire process. If that is not fraud, then the word fraud must have another meaning,” the chat excerpt read.
Okonkwo maintained that when Ohaegbu confronted the party, officials named Obi and assembled caucus leaders as authorising the alleged payments of N10 million for House of Representatives aspirants and N20 million for senatorial candidates.
He defended going public with the allegations, saying: “As a citizen and a lawyer, I have a duty to disclose every crime against the state that comes within my knowledge.”
The claims prompted Obi to demand N5 billion in damages and a public apology through his lawyers. Okonkwo has previously dismissed the threat and warned that legal action could lead to further disclosures from his time working with Obi.
