Okonkwo Releases ‘WhatsApp Chats’ To Back Bribery Claims Against Peter Obi Amid N5bn Defamation Suit

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has released what he described as evidence to support his allegations that the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, approved multi-million Niara monetary demands from aspirants during the recent party’s primary elections.

Okonkwo, an actor turned politician, had earlier alleged that House of Representatives aspirants were made to pay ₦10 million each, while senatorial aspirants allegedly paid ₦20 million, claiming the payments were linked to Obi and some South-East leaders of the party.

The allegations have sparked a legal dispute, with Obi’s legal team demanding ₦5 billion in damages and a public apology from Okonkwo over what they described as defamatory claims.

But, in a series of posts on his X account on Wednesday, Okonkwo published screenshots of WhatsApp conversations with one of the aspirants, Obunike Ohaegbu, insisting that the communication corroborated his allegations against Obi.

According to Okonkwo, Ohaegbu had told him that when aspirants questioned the basis for the payments, NDC officials allegedly informed them that the arrangement had the approval of Peter Obi and caucus leaders assembled by him.

“Obunike Ohaegbu, when I questioned him to prove that Peter Obi was responsible for demanding the ₦10 million from House of Representatives aspirants and ₦20 million from Senate aspirants, he made it clear that when he confronted the party on who authorised the payment, the party named Peter Obi and the caucus leaders who were assembled by Peter Obi,” Okonkwo wrote.

The former Labour Party Presidential Campaign spokesperson also shared excerpts of the conversation in which Ohaegbu expressed disappointment with the conduct of the party’s primaries in Anambra State.

In the unverified message, Ohaegbu questioned how a consensus list of candidates allegedly emerged despite the absence of consultations or negotiations among aspirants in the state.

He reportedly stated that aspirants participated fully in the primary elections believing the outcome would determine the party’s candidates for the 2027 elections, adding that if candidate lists were prepared elsewhere without consultation, “serious questions arise about the integrity of the entire process.”

Ohaegbu further argued that consensus could only exist through consultation, negotiation and agreement among stakeholders, suggesting that the absence of such a process undermines the credibility of the exercise.

Defending his decision to make the allegations public, Okonkwo maintained that he was acting in the public interest.

“As a citizen and a lawyer, I have a duty to disclose every crime against the state that comes within my knowledge. The South-East people have suffered enough. No human being can again take them or any citizen of Nigeria for granted or perpetrate any fraud against them without challenge,” he wrote.

The latest development comes days after Obi, through a June 9, 2026, letter signed by his counsel, Alex Ejesieme (SAN), demanded ₦5 billion in damages and a public retraction of the allegations, warning of further legal action if the demands were not met.

Okonkwo, however, has said he was yet to review the legal letter and will respond formally after doing so. He also suggested that any legal proceedings could lead to the disclosure of additional information obtained during his time as Obi’s spokesperson during the 2023 elections.

The two politicians were once close allies but parted ways following Obi’s defection from the ADC to the NDC.

Neither Obi nor the NDC leadership has publicly responded to the latest WhatsApp conversations released by Okonkwo, and the allegations contained therein.