MIRIAM NNOLI 
Veteran Nollywood actor and former spokesperson for the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused the 2023 presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, of betrayal.
Speaking in a recent interview with Symfoni, Okonkwo revealed that Obi went against his advice by returning to support the embattled Julius Abure-led faction of the party, despite having received warnings.
According to him, Obi was misled by LP executives who claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had recognised them.
Okonkwo stated that he privately urged Obi not to align with what he described as an undemocratic group that acted as agents of the government. Despite this, Obi publicly endorsed them.
Okonkwo, a known loyalist of Obi’s political ideology, cited these irregularities as his reason for quitting the party earlier this year.
He said, “Any politician who understands what they are doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anyone who has betrayed the other, I can say emphatically that Peter Obi has betrayed me.
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“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi, claiming that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them. Obi then went back to them surreptitiously, despite my telling him: ‘Sir, you have made a public statement on integrity.
“Even if INEC has accepted them, that should not be a reason for you to start dealing with them, as they have proven to be undemocratic. If you associate with them, they will destroy your political career, and everything you have said about integrity will be undermined.
“I warned Obi that these individuals had become agents of the government, seeking to destabilise him. Their actions were entirely illegal and unconstitutional.
“I made it clear that if he chose to return to them, I would not join him in that decision because I do not go back on my word.
“After expressing my concerns, I informed everyone in Obi’s inner circle about what he was attempting to do. I told them that he wanted to return to the Abure faction and that if he did, I would not follow him because I stand by my convictions.
“Within 72 hours of our conversation, Obi went back to Abure’s office and publicly endorsed them. While he was there, one of their leaders sent me a video to mock me, showing that the person I had been defending against them had gone to endorse them.
“It was only after INEC dissociated itself from Abure that Obi began to act neutrally. However, I told him that he could not be neutral and that a decision had to be made.”
