A member of the newly established alliance, Kenneth Okonkwo was previously the spokesperson for the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council. Chibuike Chukwu discusses the measures being taken to overthrow President Bola Tinubu in 2027 after he claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration had subjected Nigerians to “extreme hardship” in this interview. Quotes:
Could you clarify that you were cited as predicting that Tinubu’s government would terminate with the arrival of the ADC coalition party?
You know, the APC’s current strategy is to undermine all opposition parties so that Tinubu won’t have a powerful platform to oppose him in 2027. However, you should be aware that men with little plan and intelligence make up the APC. It has been a party of corruption and incompetence, so all they know is how to spend money to buy people and purchase places. For that reason, I stated that this was a surprise that they had not expected. According to their predictions, the opposition would never be able to unite. The opposition has now united, indicating that they are certain that their predictions and their knowledge or opinions about the opposition are not accurate. I am aware, as are you, that Nigerians are suffering. The current state of misery is unprecedented for Nigerians. Let me give you an example. I intended to go to Enugu State to begin constructing the ADC’s buildings. “Look, I’m going to spend two days,” I stated to my protocol officer. “I should be required to retain N800,000,” he added. Far too much for the trip. And if you look at it, the one-way flight costs over N250,000. Any hotel that might be reasonable may inform you that the rate is 100,000 per night. Does the money still exist if you look at the airport tax, the food, and everything else? Has it vanished? Tell me who will pay N800,000, for example, to vote for Tinubu at home in 2027. However, despite all of their difficulties, poverty, and the dehumanization and degradation this APC has inflicted upon them, Nigerians would be powerless without an alternative platform. Thus, I am stating that Tinubu is no longer there as they have a strong substitute.
I am aware of the efforts you and other attorneys put in to ensure that the Appeal Court, which reports to the Supreme Court, gave careful consideration to the recent general election’s purported rigging. Do members of the ADC alliance not find it troubling that the same court would oversee any subsequent issues and that the same Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will preside over the 2027 election? In the absence of appropriate electoral changes, what gives ADC confidence that Nigerians’ votes will matter in 2027?
It’s a good question. I initially supported the coalition for this reason. You may remember how many people called me a variety of derogatory names when I initially brought up coalition. I received a lot of abuse when I argued that any new candidate would serve one term. They have now, however, tapped into it. What made me mention coalition? Outside of power, Tinubu managed to overrun the system; if he could have done that, you could picture him as an incumbent. So, how can you go up against such an incumbent and not be united when you know that they will rig if given the chance? This is because no one has satisfactorily defined what a technical issue is to me up to this point. Furthermore, no one has given my sahis an explanation. Here’s how I define a technical glitch: Stop the results from being sent and transmitted electronically so that people won’t know what they are. This will allow you to write your own results and force them on others. That’s how I define a technological glitch. The announcement and transmission of the results were purposefully halted by INEC in order to manipulate. There aren’t any other technical issues. Because it’ll be like the JAMB if there’s a technical issue. The man emerged during JAMB’s technological malfunction. “Yes,” he responded, “look at the area, look at where it happened.” Examine which centers were impacted. The exam will be retaken at certain locations. Has INEC held a rerun election? Not at all, as there was never a technical issue. That’s what President Goodluck Jonatha said: if a man is truly asleep, he will wake up if you wake him up. But no matter what you do, you will never be able to wake up a man who is acting like he is sleeping. Because that technical issue was a ruse, they will never tell you which polling stations were impacted, no matter what you do. They will never tell you why the election should be held again in those voting places. For what reason? since it isn’t accurate. There was no technical issue. You saw how they explained the technological error in JAMB, though. In tears was Oloyede. Did you notice that Mahmood Yakubu’s eyes were wet? Yakubu advised going to court instead. Oloyede retook the test after listing the locations where the problem occurred and continued. Let’s band together to combat these individuals and the rigging because of everything I mentioned. Have they changed the electoral laws to take the events into account? They haven’t, for the time being. When the six-month mark approaches, they will start using international legislation that states you shouldn’t make any changes beyond that period. You see, there’s already a big strategy in place to rig the election. However, they cannot stop them if the opposition joins forces with the suffering of Nigerians. The people in authority will never be able to overcome the power of the people. During the Goodluck Jonathan era, weren’t we in Nigeria? Jonathan lost the battle. Although there were issues with that election at the time, he lost. It would be said that Tinubu is not Jonathan. Under Tinubu, Nigerians are not Nigerians under Jonathan.
Political analysts have voiced concern that since Atiku and Obi have both run for president and Amaechi has previously done so, personal goals could destroy the alliance. What guarantee is there that such dread is unfounded?
An extremely important query. Ambition is at the heart of politics and elections. Do not enter politics if you are afraid of ambition and elections. It is typical. Before the coalition ever entered, I warned people that it posed a problem. but cannot promise that we won’t have disagreements as our separate ambitions begin to emerge. Building the party in their respective areas is what each candidate or aspirant will do. In order to run in the primary election, be sure you can convince your supporters to join the party. You must have realized that everyone else would be on your side. Since we are opposed, I am not in favor of zoning the tickets to any region in Nigeria. Unlike the dominant party, you do not enjoy the same privilege as the opposition. An incumbent is the party in power. Oh, they’ll try to convince you that you should let the South finish its years. That is a lie straight out of hell. A president serves a four-year term, not an eight-year one, to start. Originally, in 1999, the plan was for each geopolitical zone to last for four years before moving on to another, so that in twenty-four years, the geopolitical zones would have been reduced. Because he claimed that they had a four-year pact, Alex Ekwueme ran against Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003. Obasanjo, using his authority as president, has now refused, stating that he has programs and will serve his eight years. This led to the eight-year agreement for the north and eight years for the south. Look at what transpired, though. Yar’Adua was elected in 2007 and passed away while in office. “Allocate us eight years to complete our remaining years,” the north said. Subsequently, some individuals argued that you cannot claim that you will reach the eight-year mark if something occurs that goes beyond that time frame. Instead, you can divide it up between the north and the south for four years in order to do the task. This was because they learned that in the event of the president’s death, the vice president will assume the presidency, according to the constitution. Consequently, the argument was that it was now a joint ticket when Goodluck took over. Give Jonathan the opportunity to complete the Yar’Adua-Jonathan united ticket. Jonathan hailed from the South. Nobody argued that the north had to be left alone for eight years. Asserting that it was their turn, the northerners banded together and held a primary among themselves, involving Babangida, Atiku, Gusau, and Saraki. After that, they decided on Atiku. However, the South disagreed. Jonathan Goodluck was their primary school teacher. They were won by Jonathan. In 2011, Buhari ran, and Jonathan won. In the north, tenure was completed in this manner; in the south, it was completed in the same manner. Even after those four years in the South, Goodluck Jonathan wanted to run again, but the North refused, saying that this is where injustice will manifest itself. Jonathan was taken out in this manner. North and South had shared it for four years before Jonathan was taken out. Then it reverted to the eight years, and now Tinubu’s rule is irreparably flawed. It is the intervening event that has taken place. You can either indicate that Tinubu should be allowed to serve out his eight years or that the remaining four years should be made available to any other individual or party so that they can run against Tinubu with their best efforts. Regardless of who wins, the north or south will now have to share it for four years, as was the case during the tenures of Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. After that, it will return to the eight-year cycle. Therefore, you can conclude that it would be unfair if we introduced a different candidate. No, it’s not unfair as long as the northerner serves four years. And let me tell you something: no one has been able to defeat an incumbent by running a new candidate from the same area as him since 1999. Since Buhari had served four years and they wanted to bring in another Northerner, Atiku, who they employed against Buhari in 2019, failed. Obi, then, was his choice for vice president. But they didn’t succeed. I argued that it was the turn of the southeast in 2023, so I opposed it. They would spend a further eight years, for a total of twelve years, assuming Atiku and Obi were to arrive at that time. Even if these individuals claim to be opposed to a Northerner succeeding a Northerner, wouldn’t that have been the case if Obi and Atiku had won in 2019? No, I replied. 2019’s Ndigbo for Buhari and 2023’s Buhari for Ndigbo. And since I also wanted my people to be president, I did just that in 2023. But only with a solid plan can you become president. Is it your opinion that Tinubu had no intention of becoming president in 2015 when the APC won? Knowing he would lose if he had run against Goodluck Jonathan, he went and brought a Northerner he was confident the entire North would support. And he put himself in the proper position by using the Northerner to disturb Goodluck Jonathan. After the Northerner finished, Tinubu took over when the incumbent was no longer in office. I’m now giving advice to my people. They ought to re-plan. No one will smash a coconut with a Ndigbo’s head this time. Because they haven’t run against an incumbent since 1999, the Southwest has been successful. This is because, in Nigeria, if you’re a new candidate without the incumbent’s support, they will take it away from you even if you win. I think that because we lacked the support of the establishment, they stole the 2023 election from us. However, the southwest is acting strategically. They only challenge when they are certain that the establishment will support them. And they triumph. And I want to take that approach. Elections have repercussions, and if we don’t plan, some people may complain about being left out. No one is making fun of us. The strategy I’m bringing is the one we haven’t used. Ndigbo have never had the same impact as they did in 2023, and that was because to the incumbent not running and their lack of support, which allowed them to steal our election. That has now taught me something. The establishment will support the Ndigbo when they arrive, therefore I want to plan for that.
According to your statements, it appears that you would favor a Northerner as the ADC candidate in 2027 if you had your way.
I’m expressing my personal opinion, not the party’s. Whatever the person receives from the south will push them over if the entire north can support one candidate and the entire north does the same as it did in the 2015 election. This is due to my complete support for any plan that will eradicate Tinubu. Do you know of any other region in Nigeria where you believe someone will be brought and go on to win Tinubu? That isn’t feasible. It’ll be challenging. It’s nearly impossible, but God says it. Therefore, it is true that if you claim to be running against an incumbent and you are from the South East or the South South, you are actually indirectly supporting Tinubu. It will be difficult if there is only a southern candidate and no northern one.
The president has been attacking the coalition ever since it was formed; do you believe this is because they are afraid?
As I mentioned, it’s a sign of low IQ. Low IQ because, if I were in their shoes, I would focus on governance and use it to persuade Nigerians. They’re anxious, though, because they have nothing to contribute. Consequently, they fear their own shadow. The wicked, as they say, flee when no one is after them. ADC has not released a manifesto or anything else, and they are apprehensive. For what reason? due of their evil nature. According to the Bible, the wicked run away when no one chases them. ADC isn’t even trying to find them.
What, however, is ADC doing to find alleged APC moles?
There will be moles at the party, I promise you. Since every Nigerian is welcome to join the political party, I can assure you of that. Therefore, you would have your constitution. In private or in public, make sure you’re abiding by the provisions of your constitution. Thus, if there is a mole among you, the mole will return and inform them that this party is serious and that their words in private are the same as their words in public. After that, there is nothing they can do. The truth is too strong to resist. Since the Bible states that you cannot resist the truth, I am now telling you the truth.
