African Democratic Congress chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo has said he was misled when he earlier defended former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi against claims that his administration left debts and unpaid obligations.

Okonkwo, who served as Obi’s spokesman during the 2023 presidential campaign, said he can no longer repeat some of those claims.

He made the disclosure on Sunday during a television programme. Okonkwo, now spokesman for the presidential campaign council of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the ADC candidate for 2027, said he is ready to change his position when new facts emerge.

He recalled that during the 2023 campaign he told Nigerians that Obi left no debt, unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities. According to him, the Anambra State Government later stated that Obi’s administration took eight loans and that workers at the state water corporation were owed salaries and arrears.

Okonkwo said these disclosures mean he cannot make the same assertions about Obi that he made in 2023. The comments come amid an ongoing dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the state’s debt profile.

The state government has linked eight external financing facilities from Obi’s tenure to a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026. Obi has rejected the description of the full amount as debt he left behind, saying Anambra’s external debt was about $30 million when he left office in 2014.

Okonkwo added that his role in 2027 would involve closer scrutiny rather than pure defence.

Photo credit: Punch Newspaper