THE PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has sued his former ally and actor-turned-politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, over comments he allegedly made during a live television appearance.

In a pre-action letter dated June 9, 2026, Obi, through his legal team led by Alex Ejesieme, a senior advocate, accused Okonkwo of making damaging allegations during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on June 8.

According to the lawyers, the statements were later circulated widely by news outlets, blogs and social media users, further amplifying their reach.

Okonkwo allegedly claimed that Obi and senior NDC figures in the South-East demanded money from aspirants seeking tickets to contest legislative positions under the party platform.

The pre-action notice notes that “Obi, together with the leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the South-East, informed the party’s aspirants that any person seeking to contest as a member of the House of Representatives must, after paying the prescribed expression of interest fee, pay a bribe of ten million naira (N10,000,000.00) to the NDC and to the caucus leaders.”

Obi’s lawyers said Okonkwo also suggested that evidence existed to support the accusation and further alleged that Obi personally handled the selection of candidates from a hotel room.

According to the pre-action notice, Okonkwo allegedly warned party members that Obi would deceive them, adding that the presidential candidate collected funds from Nigerians abroad and was involved in unlawful activities alongside other party officials.

The legal team argued that the claims portrayed the former Anambra State governor as someone engaged in corruption, fraud and other criminal conduct.

In the letter, the lawyers stated: “The above statements, in their natural and ordinary meaning, and by necessary implication, falsely and maliciously represent our client as a person who demands, solicits, organises and collects bribes; who extorts, defrauds and swindles political aspirants of their money; who is a fraudster, a scammer and a dishonest political actor; and who, in concert with others, is engaged in criminal conspiracy and is actively perpetuating criminality.”

They maintained that the allegations lacked any factual basis and exceeded the limits of ordinary political criticism.

Describing the statements as “false, baseless, malicious, reckless, defamatory and wholly unsupported by any fact,” the lawyers insisted that the comments caused serious harm to Obi’s reputation and public image.

As part of the demands, Obi asked Okonkwo to publicly withdraw the statements and issue an apology within seven days. The apology, the notice said, must receive equal or greater publicity than the original allegations.

The letter further demanded: “Pay to our Client, through our chambers, the sum of five billion naira (N5,000,000,000.00) only, as general, aggravated and exemplary damages for the grave injury occasioned to his hard-earned reputation, character and public standing by the said false, malicious and defamatory statements; and deliver to us a written undertaking that you shall cease and desist from making, publishing, circulating or causing to be published any further false, malicious or defamatory statement concerning our client.”

The lawyers warned that failure to meet the conditions would lead to court action seeking damages, injunctive orders, legal costs and other remedies.

Reacting to the legal threat, Okonkwo dismissed the demand in a post on his X account, claiming he had yet to review the notice.

He wrote: “It has been brought to my notice that there is a letter circulating online from the hypocrite, Peter Obi, and his lawyers that I should pay him N5 billion. Hahaha! If Peter Obi is looking for money to campaign, he should privately ask me for assistance, not come from extortion, and I will help him.”

The former Labour Party campaign spokesperson, the party on which Obi vied for the presidency in 2023, added that he would provide a detailed response after reading the document.

“I will reply to the letter whenever I have the time to read it later in the day. Please, send it here if you have it. It will be a shame to Peter Obi and his lawyers if they do not take this case to court. I don’t have time or patience for scammers,” he stated.

Okonkwo also suggested that a court case could expose information he obtained while serving as Obi’s spokesperson during the 2023 election campaign.

“Anyone who decides to sue his former spokesperson for defamation is indeed very unwise,” he added.

Obi and Okonkwo were close political associates during the 2023 presidential election when the actor joined the Labour Party after leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC). He later became one of the prominent voices of Obi’s campaign team.

However, the relationship between both men has since deteriorated, leading to a series of public disagreements.