Actor and former spokesman for the Labour Party’s presidential campaign council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has announced his departure from the party.
This decision comes just 18 months after joining the LP’s former presidential candidate Peter Obi and the Obidient movement.
In a detailed letter shared on Instagram on Sunday, Kenneth outlined his reasons for leaving the LP and Obi.
He stated, “I am committed, irreversibly, to a great Nigeria built on equity, justice, and fairness, where every citizen will be free and able to aspire to any position or level in life without regard to primordial sentiments built around ethnicity, religion, sex, or circumstances of birth.”
Kenneth emphasised the importance of internal democracy within political parties, arguing that its absence results in incompetent and corrupt leaders.
He also called for a decisive leader capable of building a party of integrity and character from the grassroots, stating, “A corrupt tree cannot produce good fruits regardless of the leader’s integrity and intentions.”
Kenneth said he believed Obi had the potential to build a strong, integrity-driven party capable of overthrowing corrupt leaders but needed to provide the right directives, and everyone would follow.
Kenneth added, “I received my first shock when he publicly declared that he didn’t promise Nigerians to build a strong Labour Party, but to solve Nigeria’s problems. I was like, does it mean HE Peter Obi is not aware that without a solid party base, we are heading nowhere politically? However, I continued in his defence believing he would still privately bring the needed solution to LP’s problems. To no avail.”
The LP has been faced with leadership crisis since the 2023 elections were concluded.
