Kenneth Okonkwo, a prominent member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said why no person from the South-East was eligible to be selected as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in the party’s 2027 presidential campaign.
Naija News reported that Okonkwo, appearing on Channels Television, revealed a predilection for the South-East but said that they were not registered members of the ADC before the primary poll.
He claims that the departure of former Anambra State governor Peter Obi from the ADC left South-East in disarray.
Additionally, Okonkwo denied any opposition to Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation, being chosen as the party’s vice presidential candidate.
When asked if he is in favor of Amaechi as the ADC’s vice presidential candidate, he responded, “First and foremost, he is the choice of the party and everybody that is a loyal party member.”
“I expressed my expectation that the Vice President would be from the South-East. It was a geopolitical phrase, not the person of somebody, and of course I recognized the restrictions of the Electoral Act 2026 Recall that anyone must have been a member 21 days before to the primary in order to be allowed to run. Therefore, we are limited because, strictly speaking, the South-East residents I would have chosen were not even registered members.
“Rotimi Amaechi, Hayatu-deen, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi were among those who expressed interest in running for president. After Peter Obi’s departure, South-East was left in disarray, and you have to choose a vice president who has generated enough interest to take on the difficult task of campaigning across the country.”
“You can’t turn off Amaechi’s 500+ primary voters. I was arguing that even if you have limitations, you should sit down with the people of the South-East and tell them, “Look, these are my limitations.” After that, they will be aware of what to offer their citizens.
“Atiku traveled and was not in Nigeria when the party made the statement, so when he arrived, he took the appropriate action. You remember, and that’s what makes this great democrat so beautiful. Everything stopped when he entered. He called all the parties and engaged in conversation as soon as he entered.
