A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has stated that the party played a stabilising role in Peter Obi’s political trajectory, asserting that his relevance had declined prior to joining the ADC.
Speaking during an interview from 6:36 on Arise Television on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, Okonkwo argued that Obi’s political standing had weakened before his entry into the party at the end of 2025. “Recall that before he came to ADC in December 31st, his political career was already dead. He was losing his polling unit in his own state by the gubernatorial candidate that he chose by himself,” he said.
Okonkwo further referenced a local legislative election involving the Labour Party, suggesting that the outcome reflected declining support for Obi’s leadership.
“Recall that even when one member of the House of Assembly of Labour Party died, they fielded his widow to know whether they can get the sympathy of the people. But because of the rejection of Anambra people to Peter Obi’s leadership style, they still voted against the innocent widow,” he stated.
He maintained that these developments indicated a broader loss of political influence within Obi’s home state prior to his association with the ADC. “So recall that before he entered ADC, his political career was already dead, so dead that he could not even enter ADC from his own state, Anambra state,” Okonkwo said.
According to him, Obi’s decision to align with the ADC through another state underscored the challenges he faced in his political base. “He entered ADC from Enugu state, my own state, where he believed that the toxic on the toxin will not overwhelm him,” he added.
Okonkwo concluded by asserting that the ADC provided Obi with renewed political relevance, rather than benefiting from his entry into the party. “So ADC actually gave him a lifeline. Peter Obi needed ADC. ADC did not need him. Because we were already moving on without him,” he said…Read_More…