“I Stand By The Truth Of All I Declared” — Kenneth Okonkwo Rejects Peter Obi’s Retraction Demand, Says NDC Primary Claims Came From Aspirants

African Democratic Congress chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo, has rejected the demand by former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, for a retraction, public apology and ₦5bn damages over comments he made concerning alleged irregularities in the Nigeria Democratic Congress primary elections.

Okonkwo, in a response to Obi’s pre-action notice, said he would not withdraw the comments he made during a recent interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, insisting that the remarks were based on complaints allegedly brought to him by aspirants and other sources within the party.

The dispute arose after Okonkwo alleged during the television interview that some aspirants in the NDC were asked to pay money to secure party tickets.

Following the interview, Obi, who is the NDC presidential candidate, through his lawyer, Alex Ejesieme, SAN, issued a pre-action letter demanding that Okonkwo retract the claims, tender a public apology and pay ₦5bn as damages.

Obi described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.

However, in a reply dated June 16, Okonkwo’s lawyers at Supreme God Chambers denied that their client defamed Obi.

“The kernel of your letter is that our client defamed your client through the interview on Channels Television on 8 June 2026,” the lawyers wrote.

“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,” they added.

Okonkwo’s legal team said the comments were based on information allegedly provided by Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC House of Representatives aspirant from Anambra State, and other party members.

According to the response, Ohaegbu approached Okonkwo to help recover ₦10m he allegedly paid to the party during the nomination process.

The lawyers claimed that Ohaegbu believed he had secured the ticket after making the payment, but was later directed to participate in direct primaries.

They further alleged that Ohaegbu held Obi responsible for the development and encouraged Okonkwo to make the matter public.

Okonkwo’s lawyers also referred to complaints allegedly made by other aspirants, including OAU Onyema, a former senatorial aspirant in Enugu State.

The letter alleged that some aspirants paid various sums during the screening and nomination process and later felt misled by party officials.

The lawyers argued that Okonkwo acted within his rights as a lawyer, public affairs analyst and politician by raising concerns over the complaints brought before him.

“Our client stands by the truth of all he declared on Channels TV,” the lawyers stated.

They said the purpose of Okonkwo’s appearance on the programme was to expose what he considered to be transactional politics, ticket racketeering, extortion of aspirants, misleading representations, false pretence, undue influence and coercive pressure.

Okonkwo’s legal team also accused Obi’s camp of allegedly publishing their client’s personal telephone number online after the pre-action letter was issued.

They described the alleged publication as a breach of privacy, claiming it exposed Okonkwo to attacks and harassment.

The development has escalated the dispute between Obi and Okonkwo, with the ADC chieftain maintaining that he will not apologise or retract his comments unless the allegations raised by the aspirants are properly addressed.