Former spokesman of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign team in the 2023 general election, Kenneth Okonkwo has urged President Bola Tinubu, and the presidential candidates of LP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Peter Obi, and Atiku Abubakar to step aside from contesting for the presidential seat in the 2027 election.
The Nollywood actor-turned-politician stated this on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
Okonkwo, who was an active member of the LP, in the lead-up to the 2023 general election, has, however, backtracked from his support for Obi, asking the LP chieftain, Atiku and Tinubu to step aside for other candidates in Nigeria’s next round of elections.
When asked whether he still wants the trio to give way for other candidates in the next general election, he said, “I said it and I maintain it because in Nigeria, people will not give you their mandate and you treat it with levity.
“You must do everything decisively to secure it. Unfortunately, nature has bestowed on us the duty that in Nigeria, you will not only win an election, but you have to fight for your mandate.”
He further stated that though he worked with Obi in the 2023 election, that is now in the past.
He said whatever happened in 2023 should stay in 2023, ruling out backing the former Anambra State governor in the next round of general polls in Nigeria.
Okonkwo officially resigned from the party on Tuesday, saying it will take effect from February 25, 2025.
Citing the many internal rambles in the Labour Party as the reason he dumped the party, Okonkwo, a former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ruled out returning to the ruling party.
He added that he resigned from APC on principle, and accused the ruling party of failing to address the country’s challenges.
“I resigned from APC on principle,” Okonkwo said, but gave only one condition to return to the party.
“Let me tell you, I will be the first person to admit it if the APC changes today and is doing well for Nigeria,” he said.
