The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, has described Peter Obi as the only presidential candidate to account for campaign spending.

Tanko made this statement on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Day Break’.

According to him: “I was there when Aisha Yesufu and Peter Obi engaged the services of an independent auditor to review their campaign finances.

“They provided an account of every amount spent during the campaign. I would like to see the same level of transparency from other major parties, including the  APC and PDP.

“Peter Obi stood out because he was committed to the accountability and transparency he consistently advocated throughout the campaign.

“So, he made sure that those accounts were rendered to the public, and I think it’s a public document and will be accessed by everybody.”

Human rights lawyer, Maduabuchi Idam, on Tuesday accused a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Kenneth Okonkwo of exchanging his brain for his sharp tongue.

Idam was reacting to Okonkwo’s rejected of the Atiku-Amaechi’s ADC presidential ticket.

Okonkwo had faulted the decision of the ADC to pick the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who hails from the South South as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate.

The ADC chieftain vowed never to campaign for Atiku if his running mate is not from the Southeast.

However, Idam in a statement said: “Kenneth Okonkwo, who seems to have exchanged his brain for an exceptionally sharp tongue, has spoken again. This time, he appears to be advocating for a presidential ticket that accommodates the Southeast, either as President or Vice President.

“On the surface, one might mistake this position for pan-Igbo advocacy. However, the real question lies in what may truly motivate his agitation.

“I suspect that at some point he positioned himself as a potential running mate to Atiku Abubakar—a wild ambition that may have contributed significantly to the erosion of his public image. How he convinced himself that such a possibility ever existed can only be explained by greed and overreaching ambition.

“A man who lacks the capacity to attract votes beyond his own cannot realistically be considered a valuable electoral asset. Atiku, whatever his shortcomings, would hardly risk what may be his final presidential bid on such a gamble.”

The human rights lawyer suggested that perhaps Okonkwo’s next political destination should be the APC, where his current disposition may find a more comfortable home.

He also alleged that Okonkwo’s fallout with the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi was due to his inability to secure a duplex he reportedly desired.

“I have heard claims that his relationship with Peter Obi deteriorated because Obi allegedly could not provide the duplex accommodation he reportedly desired. I’m not sure if that is correct.

“However, if that is indeed all it takes to earn the loyalty of some political actors, then President Tinubu’s camp may be well positioned to satisfy such expectations in exchange for vigorous marketing of an underperforming government.

In politics, convictions are tested not when comfort is guaranteed, but when principles come at a cost.

“The public must now watch out for a possible switch. After all, all it takes is the same tongue to deny everything he has ever said,” he added.

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has berated actor-turned-politician Kenneth Okonkwo for criticising the choice of former Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as the running mate to the party’s 2027 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Eze, in a statement on Tuesday, said he was not surprised by the “misguided and unfortunate trash” credited to Kenneth Okonkwo that he would no longer support Atiku because of his choice of Amaechi as his vice-presidential candidate.

Okonkwo’s decision was reportedly informed by an official statement from the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, confirming that Atiku had picked Amaechi as his vice-presidential running mate.

Reacting to the development, Okonkwo had stated that any arrangement excluding the South-East from the top two executive positions in 2027 perpetuates what he described as an unpardonable injustice against the Igbo people.

However, Eze, erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) and a close ally of Atiku and Amaechi, said Okonkwo was so “confused and overzealous that he thinks politics is the same as acting a script in the Nollywood industry.”

“The fact remains that it is not the choice of Amaechi as Atiku’s vice president that made Barr. Okonkwo launch an unsurprising attack on Atiku. He is an emerging betrayer, a man who speaks from both sides of his mouth.

“The heat is on Okonkwo because of his disparaging attack on the person and personality of Peter Obi, whom he once idolised as the best political leader in Nigeria. He is afraid of the N5 billion defamation suit slammed on him by Obi,” the ADC stalwart said.

Eze submitted that, having taken Peter Obi “to the cleaners” and resigned from Atiku’s camp, Okonkwo had decided to abruptly retire from politics and had dug his political grave.

“The truth is that Kenneth Okonkwo is an aimless, toothless, rabies-infested ‘Ekeuke’ (local breed) dog on the loose. He is a greenhorn, erratic and myopic about the dynamics of Nigeria’s politics,” Eze said, insisting that Atiku does not need him to become the next President of Nigeria.

“Okonkwo is a lily-livered rolling stone, an emerging traitor without electoral value,” Eze stated, adding that “Amaechi is Igbo, and his choice by Atiku as a running mate is the best option for the ADC and Nigeria.”

Eze explained that apart from the fact that Amaechi is from a section of the South-South very close to the Igbo, he is married to a woman from the South-East, Dame Judith Amaechi.

“According to our Igbo customs, having married an Igbo woman, Amaechi is automatically a wonderful son of the South-East,” the ADC chieftain said.

He argued that Okonkwo’s attempt to cast aspersions on Atiku’s relationship with the South-East does not hold water because, from the beginning of Atiku’s presidential aspirations, his vice-presidential candidates have always been Igbo.

“Senator Ben Obi under the Action Congress, Peter Obi and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa under the PDP are all Igbo. Now, so is Chibuike Amaechi. Therefore, Okonkwo’s argument lacks moral rectitude and falls short of logical reasoning.

“Besides, Amaechi’s credentials at the moment stand out among those of all South-South and South-East politicians. So, his choice is the best strategy to win the 2027 general elections for the ADC and Nigeria,” Eze insisted.

Eze hailed both Atiku and Amaechi for joining forces to rescue Nigeria at this period, insisting that with the two “refined, tested and trusted democrats,” Aso Rock is within reach.

Recall that Kenneth Okonkwo recently withdrew his support for the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, citing the continued marginalisation of the South-East geopolitical zone.