A member of the new political coalition aiming to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election, Kenneth Okonkwo, has said that the presidential ticket of the political alignment will not be zoned to any region in particular.

Okonkwo, who was the spokesperson for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, said that aspirants from both the Northern and Southern region of the country would be allowed to contest for the ticket.

The lawyer, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said no one would be stopped from contesting for the ticket of the coalition.

“I have said it clearly, nobody is going to stop anybody from contesting for the presidential ticket in the coalition, nobody,” he said.

Asked if having another president from the North would be considered as being balanced by Nigerians after Muhammadu Buhari completed eight uninterrupted years before the emergence of Tinubu, Okonkwo proposed a six-year single tenure.

He said, “Politicians have shown that it is very difficult to trust them even when the person promises one term. So, if somebody has taken a term from the South and it is in the middle of the game and the person is not performing like Tinubu, you are going to get into a problem.

“If you get another Southerner, he is going to stay there for eight years. The North will say no, this is injustice. Nobody will allow Tinubu to continue because he is not performing.

“So, the best is to throw it open. When the best comes in, every other person will support him and the person will promise to do four years.”

He reiterated his earlier position that he does not support some of the leaders of the coalition, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to emerge as the candidate of the new alignment.

‘I didn’t betray Obi’

Okonkwo also denied what he referred to as insinuation by Obi that he betrayed him, saying that he was loyal to the former Anambra State governor whilst he worked for him as a spokesperson.

“When I worked for him, I never consulted any politician, I never talked with any political party, I was 100 per cent loyal; not 99. When I left I told the whole world.

“I said from now onwards, I am not going to speak for this person again. They don’t understand what betrayal means. But again, anybody writing anything against me is a reflection of who that person is, not a reflection of who I am,” Okonkwo said.

‘Tinubu’s govt worst in Nigeria’s history’

Okonkwo also spoke strongly against the Tinubu’s administration, saying that it is the worst government in the history of Nigeria.

He said he never thought any government would be worse than that of former President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that floating of the naira by Tinubu was a “terrible thing to do.”

The former actor said that rather than floating the naira, Tinubu should have made policies that would sustain the currency by making exportation higher than importation.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the National Opposition Coalition Group (NOCG), comprising major national political figures, including a former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register its newly formed political party, All Democratic Alliance (ADA).

The group is chaired by a former Senate President, David Mark. (Daily Sun)