How Peter Obi Betrayed Me – Kenneth Okonkwo

Kenneth Okonkwo has accused Peter Obi of betrayal by supporting a disputed Labour Party faction despite his repeated warnings.

Veteran actor and former Labour Party spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, has openly accused Peter Obi of betrayal, following growing tensions within the party’s leadership.

Okonkwo, who exited the Labour Party in February 2025, said Obi ignored his advice and decided to support the controversial faction led by Julius Abure.

In an interview with Symfoni, Okonkwo explained that he had warned Obi against aligning with Abure’s camp, which has been involved in leadership disputes and accused of undemocratic conduct. According to him, Obi turned a blind eye to the warnings after being convinced by party insiders that the Abure-led group had official recognition from INEC.

“Any politician that knows what he’s doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anybody that betrayed the other, I can say emphatically that Peter Obi betrayed me,” Okonkwo said of the alleged betrayal by Peter Obi.

He claimed that Obi was misled by false information.

“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them and Obi surreptitiously went back to them but I told him: ‘Sir, you have made a public statement on integrity and even if INEC has accepted them, that is not a criterion for you to go back and start dealing with them because they have shown that they are not democratic.

“If you go back to them, they will destroy your political career and everything you have said about integrity will die.’”

Despite his private warnings, Okonkwo said Obi still chose to publicly support the faction, a move he strongly opposed.

“I told Obi that these people had become agents in the hands of the government to destabilise him.

“What they did was absolutely illegal and unconstitutional, I told him that if he went back to them, I wouldn’t join him in doing so.”

He explained that he also spoke to key members of Obi’s inner circle, telling them he could not follow Obi’s decision to reunite with Abure’s camp.

“Thereafter, I called all the people that were in the inner circle and told them the same thing about what Obi was trying to do.

“I told them he wanted to go back with the Abure people and if he did, I wouldn’t go back with him because I do not swallow back my words.”

Okonkwo recounted how, just a few days after his warning, Obi paid a visit to Abure’s office and publicly showed support. He said a member of the Abure-led group even sent him the video as a way of mocking him.

“And after saying all those things, within like 72 hours, Obi went back to Abure’s office to publicly endorse them and while he was there talking to them, one of the leaders in that executive sent me the video to mock me that the person I was fighting for against them has come to their office to endorse them.”

He added that Obi only began to distance himself from the group after INEC denied recognizing Abure’s leadership.

“It was when INEC dissociated itself from Abure that Obi came out to start acting neutral but I told him he could not be neutral and something had to be done,” he added.

The Labour Party has been entangled in a leadership crisis for months, with different factions competing for control. The group led by Julius Abure has faced criticism over alleged misuse of funds and lack of internal democracy. These were among the main reasons Kenneth Okonkwo decided to quit the party, despite previously being a strong supporter of Obi’s presidential campaign.
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