{"id":163136,"date":"2025-05-19T12:27:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:35:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T12:35:05","slug":"only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo","title":{"rendered":"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition parties to unite to present a credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.<\/p>\n

Okonkwo made this call in an interview on Arise TV where he reacted to the APC Northwest\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu as its sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election.<\/p>\n

The endorsement of the Northwest APC which came with a vote of confidence in Tinubu and automatic second-term tickets for APC governors in the region, has prompted widespread debate over the party\u2019s priorities amidst growing national insecurity and poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shameful that at a time when people are being killed, like the 15 people reportedly murdered this morning in Agatu LGA, Benue State, and the Northwest is grappling with the highest rate of out-of-school children and poverty, leaders are preoccupied with elections still two years away,\u201d Okonkwo said.<\/p>\n

The Nollywood star-turned-politician described the endorsement as an unrepresentative gathering of political elites, disconnected from the real needs of the over 60 million people in the Northwest.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cDemocracy is about the people, not a group of sycophants seeking power for its own sake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legal practitioner stressed that the failure of the opposition in 2023 was largely due to fragmentation, allowing a minority party with only 37 per cent of the total votes to claim the presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way to get APC out of power in 2027 is for the opposition to unite. Nigerians deserve a government rooted in integrity, competence, and a commitment to public welfare, not one focused on power retention,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

Okonkwo also took aim at what he termed the palm wine politicsof the APC, likening its inconsistent ideology and rampant defections to the ever-changing taste of palm wine.<\/p>\n

When asked about ongoing talks between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi regarding a possible one-term presidency and a vice-presidential offer, Okonkwo maintained that leadership should be decided by the people, not political arrangements behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Labour Party\u2019s ideology, he acknowledged the party\u2019s pro-worker principles but expressed concerns about the influx of candidates who joined without fully embracing its values. Despite leaving the Labour Party due to internal challenges, Okonkwo affirmed his continued involvement in politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am part of a coalition that is still in the formative stages. We\u2019re not rushing into platforms, but when we emerge, Nigerians will hear from us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may not change the beginning of our story, but we can certainly change how it ends. And I believe we will succeed,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition parties to unite to present a credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Okonkwo made this call in an interview on Arise TV where he reacted to the APC Northwest\u2019s endorsement of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":163135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[34,5997,254],"class_list":["post-163136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-apc","tag-kenneth-okonkwo","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nOnly a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-19T11:27:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-19T12:35:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-19T11:27:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-19T12:35:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo\"},\"wordCount\":454,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"APC\",\"kenneth okonkwo\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo\",\"name\":\"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo - Nigeria\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-19T11:27:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-19T12:35:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":1400,\"caption\":\"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo - Nigeria","description":"Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo","og_description":"Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo","og_site_name":"Nigeria","article_published_time":"2025-05-19T11:27:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-19T12:35:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":1400,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo","datePublished":"2025-05-19T11:27:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-19T12:35:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo"},"wordCount":454,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg","keywords":["APC","kenneth okonkwo","Nigeria"],"articleSection":["all news","Parties"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo","name":"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo - Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-19T11:27:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-19T12:35:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Former spokesperson for the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called on Nigeria\u2019s opposition ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747645526.452826.jpg","width":1400,"height":1400,"caption":"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/only-a-united-opposition-can-defeat-apc-in-2027-kenneth-okonkwo#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Only a united opposition can defeat APC in 2027 \u2013 Kenneth Okonkwo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/","name":"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}