Former Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson Kenneth Okonkwo is a part of the newly established coalition. CHIBUIKE CHUKWU discusses the measures being taken to guarantee President Bola Tinubu’s defeat in 2027 after he claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration had subjected Nigerians to “extreme hardship.” Excerpts
Could you clarify your statement that Tinubu’s government will terminate with the arrival of the ADC coalition party?
As you may know, the APC’s current strategy is to undermine all opposition parties in order to deny Tinubu a powerful platform that might be used against him in 2027. The APC, however, is staffed by men who lack strategy and brains. They only know how to use money to purchase people and places because it has been a corrupt and inept party. That’s why I stated this was a surprise that they didn’t expect. They were forecasting that the opposition would never be able to unite. Now that the opposition has united, they are certain that their predictions and their knowledge or opinions about the opposition are not accurate. We both know that Nigerians are suffering. Nigerians have never experienced this degree of pain. Here’s an example. To begin constructing the ADC’s infrastructure, I planned to go to Enugu State. I remarked, “Look, I’m going to spend two days,” to my protocol officer. “I should have to keep N800,000,” he claimed. Too much for the trip. When you look at it, the one-way flight costs over N250,000. They might tell you 100,000 per night when you walk into any hotel, even if it seems reasonable. Is the money still there after checking the meal, airport tax, and everything else? Is it now gone? For example, who will pay N800,000 to vote for Tinubu at home in 2027? Despite all of their suffering, adversity, starvation, and the dehumanization and degradation this APC has inflicted upon them, Nigerians would be powerless without an alternative platform. That is the reason I am stating that Tinubu is no longer there because they have a strong alternative.
I am aware of the efforts you and other lawyers put in to ensure that the Appeal Court, which reports to the Supreme Court, gave careful consideration to the claims of election tampering in the most recent general election. The fact that the same Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will preside over the 2027 election and that the same court will handle any follow-up matters worries the members of the ADC coalition? What gives the ADC the assurance that, in the absence of appropriate electoral changes, Nigerians’ ballots would count in 2027?
I think that’s a good question. For this reason, I first supported the coalition. As you remember, I was called a lot of names when I first brought up coalition. Many people swore at me when I argued that any new candidate would serve one term. They’ve keyed into it, though. I mentioned coalition, but why? You can picture Tinubu as an incumbent if he was able to overpower the system when he was out of power. Given that you are certain that they will rig if given the chance, how can you go up against such an incumbent and remain ununified? This is due to the fact that, as of right now, no one has satisfactorily articulated what a technological malfunction is. Additionally, since no one has given my sahis an explanation, This is how I define a technical glitch: To offer yourself the chance to create your own findings and force them on others, halt the electronic transfer and transmission of results so that no one will be aware of them. That is how I define a technological glitch. INEC purposefully halted the results’ release and transmission in order to falsify the results. Nothing else is a technical issue. Because it will resemble the JAMB if there is a technical issue. The man appeared when JAMB experienced a technical issue. Yes, he said, observe the location and the area. Examine the impacted centers. In those locations, we will retake the exam. Did INEC hold any elections again? No, because there was never a technical issue. President Goodluck Jonatha stated that if a man is truly asleep, he will awaken if you stir him up. No matter what you do, however, you will never be able to wake a man who is acting like he is sleeping. Whatever you try, they will never tell you which polling stations were impacted since that technological issue was a ruse. They will never explain to you why those polling places should hold another election. What’s that? since it’s untrue. There was no issue with the equipment. However, you could see how they explained the technological problem in JAMB. Oloyede had tears in her eyes. Were Mahmood Yakubu’s eyes wet? Go to court instead, Yakubu said. After listing all the locations where the glitch occurred, Oloyede retook the test and continued. As a result of all I mentioned, let’s band together to combat these individuals and the rigging. Have the electoral laws been changed to account for what transpired? They have not, at least not yet. They will then start citing international legislation that states you shouldn’t make any changes after six months. You see, there is already a big strategy in place to rig the election. But the opposition cannot stop them if they unite with the plight of Nigerians. People in power will never be able to overcome the power of the people. Were we not in Nigeria when Goodluck Jonathan was in power? Jonathan lost the race. Even though the election wasn’t flawless at the time, he lost. “Tinubu is not Jonathan,” someone would say. Nigerians under Tinubu are not Nigerians under Jonathan.
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Considering that both Atiku and Obi have run for president and that Amaechi has previously done so, political analysts have voiced concern that personal goals could destroy the alliance. How can we be certain that this kind of worry is unfounded?
really important query. Ambition is the key to politics and elections. Therefore, avoid entering politics if you’re afraid of elections and ambition. This is typical. I warned people about the coalition’s threat even before it was formed. However, I cannot promise that we won’t have disagreements as our separate ambitions begin to emerge. As a result, each candidate or aspirant will work to establish the party in their locality. Get your supporters to join the party so that you can run in the primary election. You must have known that everyone else would be on your side. Since we oppose zoning the tickets to any region of Nigeria, I am not in favor of doing so. You do not enjoy the same luxury as the ruling party as the opposition. An incumbent party is in power. They will try to convince you that, “Oh, let the South finish its years.” That is the devil’s lie. First of all, presidents serve four-year terms rather than eight-year ones. Now, this four-year period was first established in 1999, when it was agreed that each geopolitical zone would last for just four years before moving on to another, so that the geopolitical zones would be reduced in 24 years. Alex Ekwueme ran against Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 for this reason, claiming that they had a four-year contract. With the authority of incumbency, Obasanjo now said no, stating that he had programs and will serve his eight years. That is how the eight-year deal for the north and eight-year agreement for the south came about. But see what transpired. Yar’Adua took over in 2007 and passed away while in government. “Allow us to finish our eight years,” the north said. Then some argued no, that you can’t declare you’ll attain that eight-year period if anything happens along the way that goes beyond it. Instead, you can divide it now for four years between the north and the south to finish it. They did so after learning that the constitution stipulates that in the event of the president’s death, the vice president shall assume the presidency. The point was that it was now a joint ticket when Goodluck took control. Permit Jonathan to complete the Yar’Adua-Jonathan joint ticket. From the south came Jonathan. Nobody demanded that the north must remain unabated for eight years. Now, the northerners united and held a primary among themselves, claiming that it was their turn. Babangida, Atiku, Gusau, and Saraki were all involved. Then they decided on Atiku. The south, however, disagreed. With Goodluck Jonathan, they entered primary school. Jonathan won them. Jonathan defeated Buhari in 2011. That’s how tenure was done in the north for four years and in the south for four years. Goodluck Jonathan intended to run for office again after those four years in the South, but the North refused, saying that here is where injustice will occur and that they wouldn’t accept. They took Jonathan out that way. And it had been shared between the north and south for four years before Jonathan was taken out. Then it went back to the eight years, and now Tinubu’s rule is irreparably flawed. That is the intervening event that has taken place. You either think that Tinubu should be allowed to serve out his eight years or that the remaining four years should be made available to any other individual or political party so that they can run against Tinubu with their best efforts. Now, whoever wins there, north or south, will have to share it for four years, just like in the days of Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. After that, it will return to the eight-year cycle. There is nothing like saying “injustice” if we introduce a different candidate. No, as long as the Northerner serves four years, it isn’t unfair. Additionally, since 1999, no one has been successful in defeating an incumbent by running a new candidate from the same section. In 2019, they tried to deploy Atiku against Buhari, but Atiku failed because they planned to bring in another Northerner after Buhari had served four years. Obi was his choice for vice president at the time. However, they were unsuccessful. I opposed it, arguing that the southeast would turn in 2023. However, they will stay an additional eight years, for a total of twelve years, assuming Atiku and Obi arrive at that time. All of these individuals are arguing that they oppose a Northerner succeeding a Northerner, but wouldn’t that have happened if Obi and Atiku had won in 2019? No, I uttered. Buhari for Ndigbo in 2023 and Ndigbo for Buhari in 2019. And because I also wanted my people to be president, I did just that in 2023. However, you can only be president if you have a solid strategy. Do you suppose Tinubu didn’t want to be president in 2015 after the APC won? He went and brought a Northerner, certain that the entire North would support him, after realizing that he would lose if he had run against Goodluck Jonathan. Additionally, he positioned himself correctly by using the Northerner to disturb Goodluck Jonathan. Thus, Tinubu entered when the incumbent was no longer in office after the Northerner finished. I’m currently giving advice to my people. They ought to rethink their approach. This time, no one will crack a coconut with a Ndigbo head. Southwest has been successful as they haven’t run against an incumbent since 1999 since, in Nigeria, even if you win, they will take it away from you if you are a new candidate without the incumbent’s support. Since we lacked the support of the establishment, I think they stole the 2023 election from us. However, the actions taken by the southwest are strategic. They only challenge when they are confident that the establishment will support them. And they’re successful. And I want to use that tactic. Elections have consequences, and some people may complain about being marginalized if we don’t plan. No one is excluding us. I’m presenting that plan because we haven’t done it. Due to the absence of an incumbent running and the incumbent’s lack of support, the Ndigbo have never had the same impact as they did in 2023. They also stole our election. I’ve since learned from that. I want to plan for the day when the Ndigbo will arrive and the establishment will support them.
It seems from your statements that you would want a Northerner to be the ADC’s 2027 candidate if you had your way.
I’m speaking for myself, not the party. Any support the individual receives from the south will put them over if the entire north can back one candidate and do so, as they did in the 2015 election. This is because I fully endorse any plan that would eradicate Tinubu. What other region of Nigeria do you believe will produce someone who would go on to win Tinubu? No, it isn’t. It will be challenging. God says that, yet it’s practically impossible. So, if you claim to be running against an incumbent and you’re from the South East or the South South, you’re actually indirectly supporting Tinubu. It will be challenging if there is only a candidate from the South and no candidate from the North.
Do you believe that the president’s frequent attacks on the coalition since its inception are due to fear?
It’s an indication of low IQ, as I mentioned. low IQ because I would focus on governance and utilize it to persuade Nigerians if I were in their shoes. They are anxious, though, because they have nothing to contribute. Thus, their fear of their own shadow. When no one is pursuing him, the wicked, as they say, flee. ADC is uneasy and hasn’t even released a manifesto. What’s that? Because they are evil. The wicked, according to the Bible, run away when no one chases them. They’re not even being pursued by ADC.
However, how is ADC identifying alleged APC moles?
I promise there will be moles at the party. Since the political party welcomes all Nigerians, I can assure you of that. Thus, you would have your constitution. Whether in private or in public, make sure you’re abiding by the provisions of your constitution. Accordingly, if there is a mole among you, the mole will return and inform them that this party is serious and that their private statements mirror their public ones. Then, they are unable to stop it. The truth is unavoidable. I am telling you the truth now because the Bible teaches that you cannot fight the truth.
