African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo has said recent disclosures by the Anambra State Government have forced him to reconsider some of the claims he made while defending former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi during the 2023 presidential campaign.
Okonkwo, who was Obi’s campaign spokesperson in 2023 and is now associated with the ADC presidential campaign of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, made the remarks during an appearance on TVC’s Sunday Politics.
He said he had previously assured Nigerians that Obi left Anambra without outstanding loans, salaries, pensions or gratuities, but acknowledged that he now had information that challenged some of those assertions.
‘You know me, I’m a very passionate person in whatever I believe in. Let me tell you because I was misled,’ Okonkwo said.
The controversy followed the release of debt records and other documents by the Anambra State Government concerning financial obligations linked to previous administrations.
The state has said eight external facilities associated with projects undertaken during Obi’s tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026, based on figures it attributed to the Debt Management Office.
The government has also released documents concerning salary arrears involving workers and pensioners of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and other agencies. One document details a settlement involving N363.381 million scheduled as a second tranche of payments.
Obi, however, has rejected the government’s characterisation of the external facilities as loans he personally borrowed, maintaining that he neither approached financial institutions to borrow nor issued bonds on behalf of Anambra during his tenure.
Okonkwo said the emerging information meant he could no longer repeat his earlier defence without qualification.
He also revisited his previous defence of Obi’s family against allegations concerning the cost of a wristwatch reportedly worn by President Bola Tinubu’s son, questioning whether he could make the same categorical claims today.
‘In 2023, I campaigned for them as the examination in chief. In 2027, it’s going to be a cross-examination,’ he said.