A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has rejected a demand by former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to retract alleged defamatory statements, apologise publicly, and pay ₦5 billion in damages.
Obi, through his lawyer, Chief Alex Ejesieme (SAN), had issued a pre-action notice accusing Okonkwo of making false, malicious, and defamatory statements concerning the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) primary election process.
The legal notice demanded that Okonkwo withdraw his remarks, publish a public apology, and pay ₦5 billion in damages for the alleged injury to Obi's reputation.
The dispute stems from comments made by Okonkwo during an appearance on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily programme, where he alleged that some aspirants seeking tickets under the NDC were asked to pay money during the party's nomination process.
Responding through his solicitors, Supreme God Chambers, in a letter dated June 16, Okonkwo denied defaming Obi and insisted that he would not retract his statements.
“The kernel of your letter is that our client defamed your client through the interview on Channels Television on 8 June 2026,” the response stated.
“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.”
Okonkwo maintained that his comments were based on information allegedly provided by Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC House of Representatives aspirant from Anambra State, as well as other party members and independent sources.
According to his legal team, Ohaegbu approached Okonkwo seeking assistance to recover ₦10 million he allegedly paid during the party's nomination process.
The lawyers claimed Ohaegbu believed the payment had secured him the party's ticket but was later instructed to participate in direct primaries instead.
They further alleged that Ohaegbu held Obi responsible for the development and encouraged Okonkwo to make the matter public.
The response also referenced complaints from other aspirants, including OAU Onyema, a former senatorial aspirant in Enugu State, who allegedly raised similar concerns over payments made during the screening and nomination process.
According to the letter, several aspirants claimed they paid different sums of money but later felt misled by party officials.
Okonkwo's legal team argued that he acted within his constitutional rights as a lawyer, politician, and public affairs analyst by speaking on issues of public interest.
“Our client stands by the truth of all he declared on Channels TV,” the lawyers stated.
“The whole idea of his speaking on Channels TV, which information he received from the aspirants, NDC, and other Nigerians, is to expose transactional politics, ticket racketeering, extortion of aspirants, misleading representations, false pretence, undue influence and coercive pressure.”
As of the time of filing this report, Peter Obi's legal team had not publicly responded to Okonkwo's latest position.