Kenneth Okonkwo, a former spokesman for the Labour Party’s presidential campaign, has accused the PDP of being responsible for the party’s current internal problems and charged that its leaders had become political pawns of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
On Friday, February 7, 2025, Okonkwo, a seasoned politician and actor, stated on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program that the PDP’s leaders’ desire to further the APC’s agenda is the reason for the party’s waning influence.
The former spokesperson for the LP identified a pivotal moment that severely damaged the PDP’s reputation as an opposition party: President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
Keep in mind that Tinubu won the 2023 election because Wike, a senior PDP official, allegedly conspired against Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate.
Although he was a member of the PDP, the APC-led government later awarded him the position of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Wike’s position as minister, according to Okonkwo, further strengthened the PDP’s political vulnerability by preventing the party leadership from operating as a genuine opposition.
“Observe what is happening in the PDP,” he remarked. For example, there were individuals who came out as G5 and clearly worked against the party’s interests. You made allowances for them and then offered justifications.
“Normally, when you accept such things, it would start graduating. Now that they have been given an appointment, they want to take over the party.They would then proceed to take control of the party, and once they do, the genuine members would become servants to the servant since their primary leader is now a minister in the APC and the others are subordinate to him, making the PDP a servant of the APC.
In response to Atiku’s recent assertion that the APC buys opposition groups in order to destabilize them before the 2027 election, Okonkwo criticized the former vice president, claiming that his remarks target opposition parties rather than the ruling APC.
He maintained that the APC has the right to employ any methods necessary to discredit its rivals, thus it shouldn’t be held accountable for “bribing” the opposition parties.
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Excuses do not equate to success, thus I will never place the blame on the ruling party or anything that occurs within the opposition party. His Excellency Atiku Abubakar told me that the opposition party received N50 million from the ruling party. The ruling party did not embarrass me. The opposition parties made me feel humiliated. In reality, you’re accusing the opposing parties of being extremely corrupt. There will be no giver available if there is no willing recipient. “Any association, party, or nation can legitimately use any means to destabilize the opposition or opponent,” he stated.
He consequently urged opposition parties to accept accountability for their failure, stating that Atiku’s bribery accusation demonstrated the ineptitude and corruption of opposition parties.
“The Nigerian people’s aspirations have not been met by opposition. They ought to come clean, accept responsibility for their mistakes, and act morally. Since the ruling party has a political interest in destabilizing the opposition, decline their offer to do so. However, allowing itself to be destabilized demonstrates the opposition’s incapacity and corruption, Okonkwo stated.
