Actor, lawyer, and seasoned politician Kenneth Okonkwo has advised Nigeria’s opposition forces to adopt a pragmatic and strategic approach ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to Okonkwo, the only viable route to defeating incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu lies in fielding a strong candidate from the North arguing that a new Southern aspirant lacks the necessary national political leverage to unseat a sitting Southern president.
Speaking on ARISE NEWS on Monday, Okonkwo, who previously served as spokesperson for the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council in 2023, stressed that the context for the next election cycle is vastly different from the one that brought the Labour Party and Peter Obi into prominence.
“In 2023, we had no incumbent. Power was still in the North. The terrain was favorable to a third-force platform like the Labour Party,” Okonkwo said. “But in 2027, we are up against an incumbent from the South who has publicly claimed he knows how to ‘grab, snatch, and run with power.’”
That reference alluded to controversial remarks attributed to President Tinubu during the buildup to the 2023 elections, which many critics cited as reflective of Nigeria’s flawed electoral culture.
Okonkwo emphasized the need for political realism over idealism, warning that the challenges of rigging, manipulation, and unaddressed electoral reforms still plague Nigeria’s democratic process.
“I do not believe we are going to have free, fair, credible elections in 2027,” he said. “Why field a fresh Southern candidate especially from the South-East without control of the military or security architecture, to face an incumbent from the South-West who has full state power behind him?”
Drawing parallels with Nigeria’s 2015 election, Okonkwo recalled how Tinubu, as a political strategist, helped unseat Southern incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan by supporting Muhammadu Buhari, a Northern candidate with a consistent vote bank of over 12 million in the North.
“Tinubu knew he couldn’t beat Jonathan with another Southern candidate, so he brought Buhari. Buhari only gets 12 million votes when running against Southerners. When he ran against Yar’Adua in 2007, he got just 7 million,” Okonkwo explained.
He insisted that any opposition movement serious about defeating Tinubu must adopt a similar strategy anchoring its campaign in political calculus rather than regional sentiment.
“If Tinubu had performed well, I would’ve gone home and slept,” he added. “But look at the economy it’s in chaos. Insecurity is worsening, and we’re still dealing with the fallout of a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Giving him another four years is simply not an option.”
Okonkwo made clear that his views were personal and not necessarily reflective of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the political party he is now affiliated with. He noted that while the ADC has proposed a four-year transitional government if elected, it remains committed to holding open and competitive primaries.
“The ADC is not zoning its presidential ticket to the North. That’s my personal strategy because I believe it’s the only viable way to unseat Tinubu. But the party has promised fair primaries where anyone can contest,” he said.
As political alliances begin to take shape ahead of 2027, Okonkwo’s remarks underscore a growing call among opposition figures to prioritize strategy over sentiment in the race to reclaim power.
