Political analyst and public affairs commentator, Dr. Katch Ononuju, has alleged that lawyer, actor and politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, fell out with former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and members of the Obidient movement over financial expectations connected to house rent support.
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Ononuju made the allegation during an interview with YouTuber Precious Enyi, where he claimed that Okonkwo expected more financial assistance from Obi before later moving closer to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
According to Ononuju, the dispute started from what he described as a private issue involving accommodation support.
He alleged that Okonkwo had requested money to rent a duplex, but Obi advised him to begin with a flat instead.
“So you’ve been talking, saying that what did he tell us last year? He asked me for house rent money. He said na duplex he wan rent. I think Peter gave him money and said start with flat,” Ononuju said during the interview.
He further claimed that when Okonkwo later met Atiku, the former Vice President also gave him support for a flat, not a duplex.
“He wanted money for a flat. When he met Atiku, he talked to Atiku. Atiku was sweet, nice, told him he would do. Atiku still gave him money for a flat,” Ononuju alleged.
The political commentator insisted that the disagreement between Okonkwo and the Obidient movement was not ideological, but financial.
“What brought trouble between him and us? Penny. Money to rent a house,” he said.
Ononuju, who described himself as one of the leaders of the spokespersons of the Peter Obi movement, said nothing had changed between the 2023 election cycle and the present political situation.
According to him, the same issues that made Nigerians consider Peter Obi as an alternative political vehicle are still present.
“Nothing has changed between 2023 and today. And I tell you, all the fundamentals that got the people to think about Peter Obi are still there. So Peter simply tells Nigerians, ‘Use me as your vehicle to build a new country.’ That’s all we’re saying,” he said.
He said those opposed to Obi’s movement do not want a new Nigeria, but prefer to continue with the old political order.
“These other people simply say no, there should be no new Nigeria. That the old Nigeria they have and the way they are playing it is okay. We say no, it’s not okay. And that’s what we’re doing,” he added.
Ononuju also attacked Okonkwo’s entertainment background, describing him as unsuccessful in the movie industry before entering politics.
“People like Kenneth, because he failed in the movie, in the entertainment industry, that’s why he came to meet us in the political space. Kenneth Okonkwo is a failed entertainment entrepreneur,” he claimed.
He alleged that Okonkwo abandoned the entertainment industry because he did not achieve the level of success expected of a pioneer in Nollywood.
“Kenneth panicked, abandoned the entertainment industry, came to meet us in the political space. But Kenneth lacks depth. He doesn’t have it,” Ononuju said.
Ononuju also criticised Okonkwo’s alleged political alignment with Atiku, questioning why an Igbo politician would work for a Fulani politician while attacking Obi, whom he described as a frontline Igbo candidate.
“Nigeria runs a representative democracy. Kenneth is from Enugu State. How can you come, an Igbo man, you want to work for a Fulani man abusing the Igbo frontline candidate? What kind of human being are you?” he said.
He further argued that politics should not be treated like acting, where a person is paid to follow a script.
According to him, politics requires conviction, intellectual understanding and a proper grasp of public issues.
“Kenneth thinks it is like the movie industry, where they pay him money, give him a script, and he goes to act. No. Politics is based on an intellectual understanding of the discussions within the public space,” Ononuju said.
He said the central issue in Nigerian politics remains equity, adding that Okonkwo failed to understand the larger political argument behind the Obi movement.
“The discussion right now, when Kenneth came to meet us, is about equity,” he said.
Ononuju traced the political debate on equity to the period preceding the formation of the All Progressives Congress, saying that the failure of subsequent administrations to uphold equity and inclusiveness created dissatisfaction across the country.
He accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of promoting nepotism and said President Bola Tinubu had continued along the same path.
“Buhari instead started playing the game of nepotism, which Tinubu continued, for which I condemn Tinubu for his embrace of nepotism,” he said.
Returning to Okonkwo, Ononuju alleged that the actor-turned-politician was driven mainly by money and personal benefit.
“Kenneth Okonkwo didn’t understand it. His own is, give me money, I’ll speak for you. I’m an actor,” he alleged.
He also said anyone joining politics must have a sustainable source of income and should not depend on political movements for personal bills.
“If you must come and do politics, better have a secondary source of income. If you come and jump into politics and you have no supporting base that sustains you, you will become as challenged as Kenneth Okonkwo is,” he said.
Ononuju said he also has personal financial responsibilities, including children in the university, but has not allowed that to affect his political conviction.
“Who told you I don’t have problem? I have five children. And I pay university fees. And I’ve trained them all through university, and I do all these things. Yet, every day I’m on national television, not losing my conscience,” he said.
When the interviewer noted that some people may find it difficult to believe that house rent money could be the reason Okonkwo allegedly abandoned Obi, Ononuju stood by his claim.
He said he had made similar allegations previously and challenged Okonkwo to sue him if they were false.
“Let Kenneth sue me if things I say are not true. Simple. I’ve said that we have started the period of suing. So, let us play this game,” he said.
“I am saying it now and I am telling Nigerians, watch Kenneth sue me if I lie. That’s all. We don’t owe him nothing. He was not an original member of our movement,” Ononuju added.
As of the time of this report, Kenneth Okonkwo had not publicly responded to the specific allegations made by Ononuju in the interview.
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