By Opeyemi Adelakun
Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has said he was misled when he previously defended former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi against allegations that his administration left debts and other financial obligations behind.
Okonkwo, who served as Obi’s spokesman during the 2023 presidential campaign, said he could no longer repeat some of the claims he made at the time after what he described as fresh disclosures by the Anambra State Government.
He spoke on Sunday during Sunday Politics, a programme on Television Continental.
The ADC chieftain, who is now a spokesman for the presidential campaign council of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, said he was willing to change his position when presented with new facts.
“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 recalled that during the 2023 presidential campaign, he had publicly maintained that Obi left office without debts, unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities.
“There was a time I told Nigerians that Peter Obi was not owing anything, did not leave any debt, he was not owing any salary. No gratuity. No pension. And I said, go and verify.
“I’m not a man that stands on my own misunderstanding. When I see the facts, I agree,” he said.
Okonkwo said the Anambra State Government had subsequently claimed that Obi’s administration obtained eight loans and that workers at the state-owned water corporation were owed salaries and arrears.
“The fact is, the 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 comments come against the backdrop of a continuing disagreement between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s debt profile and other financial obligations associated with his tenure.
The state government has said eight external financing facilities linked to projects undertaken during Obi’s administration had a combined contracted value of $123.77m, with $92.35m outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
Obi has disputed the description of the entire $123.77m as debt left behind by his administration, arguing that the figure combines different categories of multilateral development financing.
He has also said Anambra’s external debt stood at about $30m when he left office in March 2014, citing figures from the Debt Management Office.
Okonkwo also revisited his earlier defence of Obi’s family over allegations concerning an expensive wristwatch purportedly worn by a son of President Bola Tinubu.
“There was a time they figured out that Tinubu’s son was wearing a watch worth up to N135 million,” he said.
“I ran out on television and I said nobody from Peter Obi’s family can ever wear such a thing when people are dying in poverty. I stuck my reputation on it. Can I still say that today?”
Explaining his changed approach ahead of the 2027 election, Okonkwo said his role would no longer be the same as it was during the previous presidential contest.
“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.
Obi served as governor of Anambra State from March 2006 to March 2014. His first tenure was interrupted by impeachment in November 2006 before a court ruling enabled him to return to office. He handed over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014.
Leave a Reply