Kenneth Okonkwo Makes U-Turn On Peter Obi’s Anambra Debt Record, Says I Was Misled

African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo has said he was misled in 2023 and has now recanted some of his earlier claims regarding the financial record of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi.

Okonkwo, who served as spokesperson for Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign, made the disclosure while speaking on Television Continental’s Sunday Politics programme.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Okonkwo said his earlier defence of Obi was based on information he believed to be accurate at the time. He explained that he was willing to change his position after what he described as new facts presented by the Anambra State Government.

The ADC chieftain recalled that during the 2023 presidential campaign, he publicly defended Obi against claims that his administration left behind debts, unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities.

Okonkwo said he had challenged Nigerians to verify his claims at the time but acknowledged that he could no longer maintain some of those positions following subsequent statements from the Anambra State Government.

“You know me, I’m a very passionate person in whatever I believe in. Let me tell you because I was misled,” Okonkwo said.

He explained that the state government had claimed that Obi’s administration obtained eight loans and that workers at the Anambra State Water Corporation were owed salaries and arrears.

“The fact is Anambra State Government said he borrowed eight loans. The fact is that Anambra State said that at the water corporation, he was owing workers there, all the salaries, all the arrears. I cannot say the same thing that I said about Peter Obi in 2023,” he said.

The issue has been the subject of conflicting claims between Obi and the Anambra State Government. Obi has maintained that he left office without outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions or obligations to contractors, while the state government has disputed aspects of his account and cited inherited financial obligations.

Okonkwo also reflected on his previous defence of claims concerning members of Obi’s family and an expensive wristwatch allegedly associated with one of President Bola Tinubu’s sons.

He said his willingness to reassess information was not limited to political opponents, stressing that he was prepared to change his position whenever new facts emerged.

Okonkwo described his role during the 2023 election as an “examination in chief,” suggesting that his approach to political records ahead of the 2027 election would involve much closer scrutiny.

“That’s why I said in 2023, I campaigned for them as the examination in chief. In 2027, it’s going to be a cross-examination,” he said.

His comments come amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general election, with Okonkwo now aligned with the ADC after previously campaigning for Obi under the Labour Party in 2023.