N5bn Defamation: Peter Obi Fires Back at Kenneth Okonkwo Over N10m Bribe Claims

The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has thr+atened legal action against his former ally, Kenneth Okonkwo, demanding N5 billion in damages over allegations that he collected bribes from party aspirants.

In a pre-action letter signed by his lawyer, Alex Ejesieme (SAN), Obi accused Okonkwo of making false and d+matory claims during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday.

During the interview, Okonkwo alleged that Obi and members of the NDC’s South-East caucus demanded N10 million from House of Representatives aspirants in exchange for party tickets. He further claimed that an aspirant from Anambra State, Obunike Ohaegbu, had accused Obi of collecting the money and later directing aspirants to participate in primaries instead of receiving automatic tickets.

Okonkwo also alleged that Obi compiled and submitted a list of candidates from a hotel in Abuja, describing the party’s conduct as criminal.

However, Ohaegbu has publicly denied making the claims. Appearing on the same programme on Tuesday, he stated that Obi never asked him to pay N10 million and that he never told Okonkwo otherwise.

“I am telling you that Peter Obi never told me to pay N10 million. I never told Kenneth Okonkwo that Peter Obi, in any way, told me to pay N10 million,” Ohaegbu said.

Reacting through his lawyers, Obi described the allegations as r£ckless and d@maging, saying they portrayed him as a fra¥dster, extortionist and participant in criminal activities.

He demanded that Okonkwo retract the statements, issue a public apology on Channels Television and across his social media platforms, and pay N5 billion as compensation for the alleged d+mage to his reputation.

Obi also requested a written undertaking that similar allegations would not be repeated.

The former Anambra governor warned that failure to comply within seven days would leave him with no choice but to seek legal redress in court.