I’m Going to Support a Northerner for 2027 Election – Kenneth Okonkwo

Actor-turned-lawyer and opposition figure Kenneth Okonkwo has warned that President Bola Tinubu could easily secure a second term in 2027 if the African Democratic Congress (ADC) fields another southern candidate like Peter Obi.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Okonkwo said the opposition must be strategic in its choice of candidate if it hopes to defeat the incumbent.

“My strategy this time around is that I am going to support a northerner in 2027,” he said. “It must be a northerner that the whole north is willing to support.”

“If the whole north is willing to support an Atiku, why not? If the whole north is willing to support a Tambuwal, why not? The person must be qualified, and if he has experience in the presidency, it is an added advantage. And when he puts up something from the south, that will push him through.”

Okonkwo, who was once a spokesperson for Peter Obi in the 2023 election, parted ways with the Labour Party in July 2024 over internal crises and Obi’s failure to address them. He warned that fielding another southern candidate against Tinubu would only hand the election to the APC.

“Anybody telling you to bring a fresh southerner to compete against Tinubu, a southerner, is trying to tell you to zone the ticket to Tinubu, and Tinubu will win outright.”

He also said any attempt to push a candidate from the Southeast, no matter how strong, would likely end in failure.

“If you bring somebody from the Southeast, even if he wins, they will steal it from him.”

According to him, winning an election in Nigeria requires more than votes—it needs the backing of the establishment.

“Let me tell you the strategy that will make the Southeast man to be president. Do you know the South-West has never contested an election against an incumbent? Strategy. Because they know that in Nigeria, if you don’t have the establishment supporting you, even if you win, they will steal it from you.”

“Peter Obi won the election in 2023, and they stole it from us. If you do it again, they will steal it from him because there is no incumbent to back you. But if you bring somebody from the north, nobody will prevail on him to leave his victory because he is not from the same side as you.”

His comments come amid intensified efforts by opposition leaders to form a united front. On July 2, 2025, key figures including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nasir El-Rufai adopted the ADC as their new platform to challenge Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The opposition is banking on the combined 12 million-plus votes secured by Atiku and Obi in the 2023 election—over four million more than the figure credited to Tinubu by INEC.