Kenneth Okonkwo, a former spokesperson of the Labour Party presidential campaign, has advised politicians from the Southeast to adopt smarter political strategies if they want to win the 2027 presidential election, during interview with Daily Independent on Friday, 11th July, 2025.
He said politics in Nigeria is not just about popularity, but about proper planning and backing.
Okonkwo pointed to the example of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
He said Bola Tinubu did not contest against then-President Goodluck Jonathan because he knew he would lose.
Instead, Tinubu supported a northern candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, who had the support of the northern region.
That strategy worked, and Buhari won the election, Tinubu later became president in 2023, after Buhari completed his term.
According to Okonkwo, this shows how powerful political timing and alliances are.
He said the Southwest has used this strategy wisely, only contesting when there is no strong incumbent or when they have the backing of the political establishment.
He argued that the Southeast must stop allowing others to use their support without giving them real political power in return.
Okonkwo also believes that the Labour Party won the 2023 election, but the result was taken from them because they lacked support from key figures in power.
He said in Nigerian politics, if a candidate does not have the support of the establishment, winning becomes very difficult even if the people are behind them.
He advised Southeast politicians to study the political tactics of the Southwest and act wisely.
For him, strategy and timing matter more than just running for office.
“But you can only be president with good strategy. When they (APC) won in 2015, do you think Tinubu didn’t want to be president that year? When he knew that if he had contested with Goodluck Jonathan, he would fail, he went and brought a northerner that is sure that all the north would rally behind. And he used the northerner to disrupt Goodluck Jonathan and placed himself right. So when the northerner now finished, Tinubu now came in when there’s no incumbent. I am advising my people now. They should restrategise. Nobody will use the head of Ndigbo to break coconut this time,” he said.
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