Kenneth Okonkwo, a member of the opposition alliance, claims that if the African Democratic Congress (ADC) nominates a southern candidate for president, such as Peter Obi, as its flag bearer in the 2027 election, President Bola Tinubu will win.
According to the actor-turned-lawyer, the ADC coalition should field a northern political powerhouse in the form of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal, and others in order to dethrone Tinubu.
On Tuesday’s episode of Channels Television’s Politics Today, Okonkwo stated, ““My strategy this time around is that I am going to support a northerner in 2027”
“It must be a northerner that the whole north is willing to support. If the whole north is willing to support an Atiku, why not? If the whole north is willing to support a Tambuwal, why not? He stated.
“The person must be qualified, and if he has experience in the presidency, it is an added advantage, and when he puts up something from the south, that will push him through” he stated.
“Anybody telling you it’s injustice if the north comes in, if the south comes in, and whoever wins in a primary election will take it for four years. Where is the injustice? It has happened before. Okonkwo stated, “Anybody telling you to bring a fresh southerner to compete against Tinubu, a southerner, is trying to tell you to zone the ticket to Tinubu and Tinubu will win outright”
He claimed that the opposition coalition needs to field a Northerner to run against Tinubu, who is being presented by the APC as its flag bearer.
Intriguingly, Kenneth Okonkwo served as a spokesperson for Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election. However, due to internal disputes inside the party and Obi’s failure to resolve them, Okonkwo broke up his relationship with the former Anambra governor and left the Labour Party in July 2024.
In order to fulfill the eight-year unwritten law on the rotation of power between the two main parts of the country (the southern and northern regions), Tinubu, who defeated his closest challengers, Atiku and Obi, in the 2023 election and took office in May 2023, is running for reelection in 2027.
