“I Will Not Apologise”, Okonkwo Dares Peter Obi

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The stage appears set for a legal showdown ,as Nollywood actor-turned politician Kenneth Okonkwo has rejected Nigeria  Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate Peter Obi’s demand for an apology over a perceived defamatory publication.

Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, had, on June 9, 2026, through his legal representative, Alex Ejesieme,  SAN, in a pre-action notice demanded a retraction of Okonkwo’s Channels Television Interview, a public apology published in at least five national dailies, as well as the payment of damages to the tune of N5 billion.

Okonkwo had in the said interview alleged the extortion of aspirants by Obi and other South East leaders  of the NDC during the party’s primaries .

Obi, in the pre-action notice, warned that he will not hesitate to initiate legal actions should Okonkwo fail to retract the said offensive interview within the dateline issued.

But in a  reply issued through his team dated June 16,2026, Okonkwo, maintained that he will neither retract, nor apologise, insisting that his comments were derived from facts made available to him by victims, including Obunike Ohaegbu, his client.

Okonkwo in his letter, while denying defaming Obi, said he stands by all his comments in the said Channels Television Interview.

“The kernel of your letter is that our client defamed your client through the interview on Channels Television on 8June 2026 .

“Our client denies that he defamed your client in any manner whatsoever, and expressly asserts that his position on the issues he expressed reflects the true position of the matters so reflected”, Okonkwo’s legal team stated.

Okonkwo, who is also a legal practitioner,  claimed that his comments were derived from a client, Ohaegbu who wanted him to assist in recovering the N10 million he paid to the NDC during its primaries.

According to him, his client Ohaegbu, believed that he had already secured the party’s ticket after the payment, but was shocked when he was later asked to participate in direct primaries.

Okonkwo alleged that Ohaegbu held  Obi liable for whatever transpired during the primaries, and subsequently requested him to make the matter public .

Okonkwo similarly claimed that other aspirants including one O. A. Onyema, had also approached him  with  complaints of payments of  large sums of money during the screening and nomination processes of the party, only to regrettably discover that they were misled by party officials.

In all, Okonkwo emphasized that he acted within his powers ,and right as a  legal practitioner, public affairs commentator, as well as a politician by opting to draw attention to the avalanche of complaints that trailed the NDC primaries.

“Our client stands by the truth of all he declared on Channels TV . 

“The whole idea of his speaking on Channels TV, which information he received from aspirants ,NDC and other Nigerians, is to expose transactional politics, ticket racketeering, extortion of aspirants, misleading representations, false pretense, undue influence and coercive pressure” the legal added.

In the letter, Okonkwo accused Obi of breaching his privacy by publishing his private telephone number during his pre-action notice , claiming that the development has exposed him to online attacks and harassment.

While claiming that the telephone line exposure has led to what he described as targeted online threats, Okonkwo also expressed his intention to seek appropriate legal redress..

He also described Obi’s demand for N 5 billion damages as an orchestrated plot to distract, and cow him from further exposing perceived political misdeeds .