‘I Was Misled,’ Kenneth Okonkwo Makes U-Turn on Obi’s Debt Record

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has changed his previous position on the financial record of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, saying he was misled when he defended the former governor during the 2023 presidential election.

Okonkwo, who served as Obi’s spokesperson during the 2023 campaign, said he could no longer maintain some of the claims he previously made after new information emerged from the Anambra State Government about loans and financial obligations allegedly left by the former governor.

He made the disclosure on Sunday during a programme on Television Continental (TVC).

Okonkwo, who is currently a spokesperson for the presidential campaign council of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the ADC’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election, said he was willing to review his position when presented with new facts.

He recalled that during the 2023 election campaign, he had defended Obi against claims that his administration left behind unpaid debts, salaries, pensions and gratuities. He said his earlier position was based on the information available to him at the time.

According to Okonkwo, the Anambra State Government has since claimed that the Obi administration obtained eight loans and that workers at the state-owned water corporation were owed salaries and other arrears.

He said the new claims made it difficult for him to repeat the assurances he gave about Obi’s financial record during the previous election.

The issue follows an ongoing dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s debt obligations and financial liabilities allegedly inherited from previous administrations.

The controversy began after Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, said the state was still servicing loans obtained under previous administrations, including those of Obi and former Governor Willie Obiano.

Obi rejected the claim and maintained that he left office without outstanding debts. He also said his administration did not owe workers, pensioners or contractors when he handed over power and that it left N2.1 billion in an ecological fund for the state.

The state government disputed the former governor’s account, claiming that Obi left $123.77 million in debt. It also said it had not found evidence supporting the claim about the ecological fund.

The government subsequently released documents concerning N363.38 million in salary arrears which it said were inherited from the Obi administration.

Okonkwo also revisited his previous defence of Obi’s family in relation to claims about the value of a wristwatch allegedly worn by one of President Bola Tinubu’s sons. He questioned whether he could still make the same defence based on his current position.

Explaining his changed approach ahead of the 2027 election, Okonkwo said his role would now involve closely examining Obi’s record rather than defending him as he did during the 2023 campaign.

Obi served as governor of Anambra State from March 2006 to March 2014, with his first tenure interrupted by an impeachment in November 2006. He later returned to office after the impeachment was overturned and handed over to Obiano on March 17, 2014.