Kenneth Okonkwo withdraws support for ADC presidential ticket over exclusion of South-East from top offices.
Actor-turned-politician Kenneth Okonkwo has withdrawn his support for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar following the selection of Rotimi Amaechi as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
In a statement posted on his X account on Monday, the former Labour Party presidential campaign spokesman expressed dismay over what he termed the sustained exclusion of the South-East from Nigeria’s highest political offices.
“I heard from the social media that ADC has picked its vice presidential candidate from the South-South. If this is true, it is unfortunate, as this will continue the crude marginalisation of the South-East,” he wrote.
Okonkwo argued that the region had been sidelined in the nation’s power-sharing arrangement since democracy was restored in 1999, noting that it had neither produced a President nor Vice President in that period.
The politician referenced the party’s history, pointing out that ADC was founded in 2005 by Ralphs Nwosu, an indigene of the South-East, and argued that recent political sacrifices by leaders from the region should not result in further exclusion.
“ADC was founded by Ralphs Nwosu from the South-East in 2005. He made the sacrifice to give up the party in 2025 for the coalition to usher in a better Nigeria. He couldn’t have made that sacrifice to marginalise his own people,” he stated.
Okonkwo maintained that his political engagement had always been driven by the pursuit of fairness, equity and inclusion. He had previously urged Atiku to demonstrate his commitment to South-East representation through his choice of running mate.
“The only favour I asked Atiku Abubakar, who openly declared that he is the pathway to the presidency of the South-East, is to show it by choosing someone from the South-East to be his Vice,” he said.
Okonkwo concluded that he would not support any presidential ticket that excluded the South-East from both the presidential and vice-presidential positions.
“If it is confirmed that he has chosen a candidate from the South-South, I wish him well. I am not favourably disposed to campaigning for any presidential ticket that does not have a person of South-East origin as President or Vice in 2027,” he said.