Former Labour Party spokesman Kenneth Okonkwo has levelled fresh allegations against former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and the National Democratic Coalition (NDC), accusing them of demanding millions of naira from political aspirants as a condition for contesting elective positions.
Speaking during a recent interview on Channels Television, Okonkwo claimed that aspirants were made to pay what he described as bribes in the course of securing party tickets. He said he received a distress message from an Anambra State House of Representatives aspirant, Obunike Ohebu, who accused party leaders of deceiving and exploiting hopefuls.
According to him, the aspirant alleged that after purchasing an expression of interest form, House of Representatives candidates were asked to pay an additional ₦10 million, while Senate aspirants were reportedly required to pay ₦20 million to South-East caucus leaders.
Okonkwo further alleged that the payments were presented to aspirants as support for Peter Obi’s presidential ambition, claiming that many individuals complied in the belief that it would guarantee their nominations.
He added that several aspirants later discovered that others had made similar payments, yet were still directed to participate in direct primaries rather than receiving automatic tickets as they had expected.
The former Labour Party spokesman maintained that the situation reflects alleged misconduct in the candidate selection process within the political structure, contrasting it with what he described as more coordinated arrangements in other political blocs where consensus candidates were reportedly agreed upon to avoid internal disputes.
Elijah Adeyemi
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