Peter Obi’s Exit Left South-East Disadvantaged, Confused — Kenneth Okonkwo

The presidential spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Kenneth Okonkwo, has said Peter Obi’s exit from the party before the conclusion of its presidential primary left the South-East politically disadvantaged and uncertain ahead of the selection of a vice-presidential candidate.

Okonkwo made the remarks on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief while responding to questions about why former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has yet to publicly acknowledge his vice-presidential nomination on his social media platforms.

According to him, the South-East had been represented in the party’s presidential race before Obi withdrew from the process, creating a vacuum that complicated the party’s calculations.

He explained that Obi’s departure left the region without a viable contender at a critical stage of the nomination process.

“The person that represented the South-East in that calculation left unceremoniously before the conclusion of the process. That left the South-East disadvantaged and confused, and then immediately Peter Obi exited, it was as if that position that would have been given to the South-East was vacant,” Okonkwo said.

He added that although several prominent figures from the region were considered, the Electoral Act prevented the ADC from selecting them because they were not registered members of the party within the required timeframe before the primary.

“Some beautiful names were dropped off. You talked about Abaribe, you talked about Ngozi Okonjo, you talked about some nice names, but those names, they were no longer members of ADC,” he said.

Okonkwo said the Electoral Act requires a vice-presidential nominee to have been a member of the party for at least 21 days before the primary election, making it impossible for the ADC to consider non-members despite their credentials.