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From Lukman Olabiyi
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, Kenneth Okonkwo, has rejected demands by former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to retract and apologise for allegations concerning the conduct of the Nigeria Democratic Congress primary elections.
Okonkwo, through his legal representatives, insisted that remarks he made during a recent appearance on Channels Television were based on complaints received from party aspirants and other sources, maintaining that his statements were truthful and not defamatory.
The controversy arose following comments made by Okonkwo on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on 8 June, during which he alleged that some aspirants in the NDC were required to pay money to secure party tickets.
In response, Obi, through his counsel, Chief Alex Ejesieme (SAN), issued a pre-action notice demanding an immediate retraction of the claims, a public apology and N5 billion in damages.
Obi described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.
However, in a letter dated 16 June and signed by his solicitors, Supreme God Chambers, Okonkwo rejected the allegations of defamation.
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“The kernel of your letter is that our client defamed your client through the interview on Channels Television on 8 June 2026. Our client denies that he defamed your client in any manner whatsoever and expressly asserts that his position on the issues he expressed reflects the true position of the matters so reflected,” the lawyers stated.
According to the response, Okonkwo’s comments were informed by complaints allegedly made by Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC House of Representatives aspirant from Anambra State, and other party members.
The lawyers claimed that Ohaegbu had approached Okonkwo for assistance in recovering N10 million allegedly paid during the party’s nomination process. They said the aspirant believed he had secured the party ticket after making the payment but was subsequently directed to participate in direct primaries.
The letter further alleged that Ohaegbu blamed Obi for the situation and encouraged Okonkwo to bring the matter to public attention.
Okonkwo’s legal team also cited complaints purportedly made by other aspirants, including OAU Onyema, a former senatorial aspirant in Enugu State, who allegedly expressed dissatisfaction with the party’s nomination process after making payments during screening and nomination exercises.
The lawyers argued that Okonkwo acted within his rights as a lawyer, politician and public affairs analyst by highlighting concerns raised by aggrieved aspirants.
“Our client stands by the truth of all he declared on Channels TV. The whole idea of his speaking on Channels TV, based on information received from aspirants, NDC and other Nigerians, was to expose transactional politics, ticket racketeering, extortion of aspirants, misleading representations, false pretence, undue influence and coercive pressure,” the letter stated.
