Television Nigerian

Kenneth Okonkwo, a former spokesperson for the Labour Party’s presidential campaign, holds the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accountable for the party’s current internal problems, accusing its leaders of being political pawns of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
On Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Friday, February 7, 2025, legendary actor and politician Okonkwo stated that the PDP’s leaders’ desire to further the APC’s agenda is the reason for the party’s waning influence.
President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, according to the former LP spokesperson, was a crucial turning point that severely damaged the PDP’s reputation as an opposition party.
Remember how Wike, a senior PDP official, allegedly conspired against Atiku Abubakar, his party’s presidential candidate, in the 2023 elections, which helped Tinubu win?

He was later awarded by the APC-led administration with the portfolio of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), despite being a member of the PDP.

Wike’s appointment as minister, according to Okonkwo, further strengthened the PDP’s political vulnerability by preventing the party leadership from operating as a genuine opposition.

“Observe the situation in the PDP,” he remarked. Everyone could see, for example, when some people came out as G5 and worked against the party’s interests—not in a hidden way, but openly. After you made accommodations for them, you made excuses.

“Normally, graduation would begin when you accept such things, but now they want to take over the party and they have an appointment.Subsequently, they would proceed to seize control of the party, and as a result, the genuine members would now serve the APC, as their primary leader is now a minister in the APC and the others are subordinate to him. In other words, the PDP is now a servant of the APC.

In response to the former vice president’s recent assertion that the APC compensates opposition groups in order to destabilize them before the 2027 election, Okonkwo criticized the former leader, claiming that his remarks target opposition parties rather than the ruling APC.

According to him, the APC has the right to use any methods necessary to discredit its rivals, so it shouldn’t be held accountable for “bribing” the opposition parties.

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“I will never place the blame on the opposition party or the ruling party because success and excuses are incompatible. Atiku Abubakar, His Excellency, told me that the opposition party received N50 million from the ruling party. I didn’t feel embarrassed by the ruling party. I felt humiliated by the opposition groups. You are essentially accusing the opposing parties of being extremely corrupt. A willing giver will not be available if there is no willing recipient. all organization, party, or nation has the right to employ all methods necessary to undermine its opponent or opposition, he added.

Therefore, he urged opposition parties to accept accountability for their failure, stating that Atiku’s bribery accusation demonstrated the ineptitude and corruption of opposition parties.

The expectations of the Nigerian people have not been met by the opposition. They should accept responsibility for their failure, own up to their mistakes, and act morally. The ruling party wants to destabilize the opposition for political reasons, so turn down their offer to do it. However, the fact that the opposition allowed itself to be destabilized demonstrates their ineptitude and corruption, Okonkwo stated.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), according to former Solid Minerals Minister Kayode Fayemi, has a need to apologize to Nigerians for failing to fulfill their pledges.
In an interview on Thursday, Fayemi reportedly responded in the affirmative when asked if the APC should apologize to Nigerians for their actions in overthrowing former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
The former governor of Ekiti State had said that the Occupy Nigeria demonstration against Jonathan’s government’s elimination of gasoline subsidies was driven by political reasons.

He said that despite their protests, they understood Jonathan was correct to abolish the fuel subsidy.
The APC leader acknowledged that the party has not fulfilled its promises to the Nigerian people in an interview with Channels TV.

He said: “Oh, it’s obvious that we ought to apologize to the Nigerian people. We have failed to fulfill all of our commitments to the Nigerian people. This isn’t only because we weren’t capable; there were additional systemic barriers that made our situation more challenging. However, it is obvious that we have not gone far enough in providing the Nigerian people with a good existence.

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I would definitely not think twice about apologizing to the Nigerian people for that. We are capable of much more. Although an apology could make us feel better, it’s not truly what we need. If we want to be leaders in that field, we all need to get our act together. Because the risk we take is greater than the potential rewards if we don’t.

I must confess that I have been quite privileged to stand on the shoulders of giants. The Enahoros, the Wole Soyinkas of this planet, raised me. When I began this trip as a young man, it was they who gave me encouragement.

And I have a responsibility, which is why my spouse and I have agreed to say, “I have a responsibility to the youth of Africa to find a way to enable them to become better actors than I have been.”

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been jokingly warned by Vice President Kashim Shettima to expect more verbal clashes as the general elections in 2027 approach.

This declaration was reportedly delivered by Nigeria’s second citizen at a conference in Abuja.

Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential contender, was among the luminaries he was honoring at the commemoration of former Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi’s 60th birthday.

He referred to himself as a “adjunct provocateur” who took “hot shots” at Atiku in the 2023 presidential race, Shettima said.
But he admitted that Atiku had taken the criticism well since he was a revered senior statesman.

In particular, Shettima revealed that he lovingly calls Atiku “Baba” (meaning “father” in Hausa) during their private conversations.

Despite this cutesy word, Shettima jokingly said that Atiku might expect more verbal insults in the future.

This conversation was enjoyable to the audience, and Atiku himself smiled.

Regardless of their political affiliations, Shettima also urged all leaders to unite during his speech.

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He underlined that African governments should stop depending on foreign projects and instead embrace indigenous development solutions.

“The tragedy of our day is that African leaders have not only failed to break free from client-state mindsets and governance through hashtag activism, but they have also limited themselves to Western models.

We live in the age of machines, regardless of the divisions we have throughout the continent. This truth cannot be undermined by internal strife.

While the rest of the world is using tanks and missiles to fight the same conflict, we cannot use spears and arrows to solve our development conundrum. “Africa is not waiting for the world to catch up,” Shettima said.