Actor-turned-politician and African Democratic Congress chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo has issued a detailed and combative response to the N5 billion defamation lawsuit threatened against him by Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi, flatly rejecting the claims against him and making even more explosive counter-allegations of widespread ticket racketeering and fraud during the NDC’s primary election process.

The dispute traces its roots to June 8, 2026, when Okonkwo appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme and alleged that Obi and members of the NDC’s South-East caucus demanded financial payments from aspirants seeking House of Representatives and Senate tickets.

He specifically claimed that one Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC aspirant for the Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo federal constituency in Anambra State, contacted him alleging that he paid N10 million on the understanding that it would secure him a nomination ticket, only to be left without one. Okonkwo said Ohaegbu directly accused Obi of being “the head of the fraud, the stomach, and feet of it.” He also alleged that Obi personally compiled the NDC candidate list from a hotel room at the Johnwood Hotel in Abuja, collected money from Nigerians abroad, and oversaw what he described as the perpetuation of criminality by South-East party leaders.

Obi’s lawyers, led by Chief Alex Ejesieme (SAN) of Alex Ejesieme & Co., responded on June 9, 2026, with a pre-action letter demanding an immediate withdrawal of the statements, an unreserved public apology to be published across all major platforms and national newspapers, a written undertaking against future such publications, and N5 billion in compensation for what the legal team described as false, malicious and deeply damaging allegations.

The letter warned that failure to comply within seven days would leave their client with no option but to pursue full legal redress including injunctive reliefs and legal costs.

Okonkwo’s formal legal reply, dated June 16 and issued through Supreme God Chambers and signed by V.I. Uma Esq., dismissed the defamation claim as a calculated attempt to silence him and distract from legitimate public interest concerns. The letter insisted his television comments were an accurate representation of information supplied to him by aggrieved aspirants and maintained that he took steps to inform the relevant parties before going public. Going further, the response alleged that NDC aspirants across the South-East paid staggering sums to secure nominations citing figures of N10 million for House of Representatives tickets and N20 million for Senate slots. It alleged that 99 aspirants in Enugu State and 98 in Imo State each paid N10 million, amounting to nearly N2 billion collected through what it described as misrepresentation. Another aspirant, Chief OAU Onyema, was cited as having paid N20 million for a Senate slot after being told by former Ebonyi governor Sam Egwu that candidates were expected to demonstrate financial capacity.

Okonkwo also accused Obi of violating his privacy by circulating his personal phone number in the defamation letter published online, alleging this exposed him to abuse and threats. He further claimed that he personally funded aspects of Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign from his own pocket, including flight tickets and hotel accommodation, and suggested mockingly that if Obi needed campaign funds, he should ask him privately rather than resort to legal threats.

The affair represents a bitter and very public falling-out between two men who once stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the national stage, and with the 2027 general elections on the horizon, it threatens to inflict reputational damage on both sides as the legal battle escalates.