Former Labour Party spokesperson Kenneth Okonkwo has commended former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for looking beyond past criticisms to recognise what he described as his contribution to nation-building.
Okonkwo spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, a day after he was unveiled as spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The politician, who once served as Peter Obi’s campaign spokesperson, said he ended his association with the former Anambra State governor in 2024 after concluding that Obi lacked the leadership qualities needed to govern Nigeria.
“As a public affairs analyst that I have been from 2009 before I ever met Peter Obi, I proceeded with my job. You were one of the earliest interviewers that interviewed me in July 2024 when I said I wasn’t speaking for him anymore because he’s not decisive.
“I’ve seen in him certain qualities that make him unfit to be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I made it public. By then, I had finished my job with him. But in order for the people to know that I am not speaking for him anymore, I made it public, and I went my own way, and I was doing my own job.
“He was the one who betrayed me,” the movie star-turned-politician said.
Drawing a comparison between Obi and Atiku, Okonkwo said the former vice president chose to focus on his commitment to Nigeria rather than his previous public criticisms.
“I talked about Atiku Abubakar here in this studio much more than I would even talk about Peter Obi. And people were telling Atiku Abubakar, ‘This young man that is getting close to you, are you aware of what he said to you?’
“Atiku Abubakar said, ‘I am looking at this young man, I am seeing the value in him, and his tenacity to bring about a great Nigeria. That is what I am seeing. And if I have the opportunity, I will bring him in to bring that value to Nigeria.’”
He also praised Atiku as someone who identifies and nurtures talent.
“Look at a man, a talent discoverer that discovered Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that discovered Professor Charles Soludo, that discovered El-Rufai.
“What Atiku Abubakar is looking at is not what you said about him because he knows that his desire for Nigeria is not about him, but what value are you bringing in? I had not even done anything for Atiku Abubakar, but he insisted, ‘I’ve seen something in this young man.’”
Okonkwo’s comments come against the backdrop of an ongoing legal dispute between him and Obi.
The former Labour Party spokesman had earlier alleged that Obi and others accepted bribes from House of Representatives aspirants.
Obi, through his lawyers, rejected the allegations, demanding a retraction, a public apology and N5 billion in damages, describing the claims as false and defamatory. After Okonkwo failed to comply within seven days, Obi filed a defamation suit against him at the Anambra State High Court in Onitsha in June 2026.
Reacting to the lawsuit, Okonkwo criticised Obi’s decision to seek legal action after their political relationship had ended.
