African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo has said the Peter Obi he campaigned for in 2023 is different from the man he sees today, admitting he was misled when he previously defended the former Anambra State governor’s financial record in office.
Okonkwo, who served as spokesperson for Obi’s Labour Party presidential campaign, made the remarks while speaking on TVC’s Sunday Politics programme.
He explained that he can no longer stand by the claims he made about Obi three years ago.“I cannot say the same thing that I said about Peter Obi in 2023,” Okonkwo stated.
He recalled telling Nigerians that Obi left Anambra State without outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities.
Those assertions, he said, were based on the information available to him at the time.Fresh disclosures by the Anambra State Government have changed his position.
The state claims eight external financing facilities linked to projects during Obi’s tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
Obi has disputed the figures, insisting he neither borrowed money from financial institutions nor issued bonds on behalf of the state.
He argued that the amounts cited relate to multi-year World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development programmes negotiated by the Federal Government, and that Anambra’s external debt stood at about $30 million when he left office in March 2014.
Okonkwo said the controversy highlights the need to separate political advocacy from rigorous scrutiny when new facts emerge.
He noted that his role has shifted from defending allies in 2023 to questioning claims ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The former Labour Party spokesman is now aligned with the ADC and associated with the campaign of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.