Chief Obunike Ohaegbu, aspirant for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Ekwusigo/Nnewi North/Nnewi South Federal Constituency in Anambra, has denied saying Peter Obi, the party’s Presidential Candidate, deceived him to part away with N1o million in exchange for the party’s ticket to contest the 2027 election.
Former presidential campaign spokesperson and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo, had accused Obi of financial impropriety.
Okonkwo alleged that Obi and some party leaders were involved in the collection of money from aspirants seeking the party’s tickets.
Okonkwo had earlier alleged that House of Representatives aspirants paid N10 million each while senatorial aspirants paid N20 million each during the party’s candidate selection exercise.
According to him, the claims were based on information provided by Ohaegbu, who allegedly supplied details and receipts relating to the payments.
He claimed that Ohaegbu informed him that party officials justified the payments by telling aspirants that the directives had the backing of Obi and caucus leaders associated with him.
The former spokesperson also published messages purportedly sent by Ohaegbu in which concerns were raised over the conduct of the nomination exercise in Anambra.
But in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Thursday, Ohaegbu contradicted Okonkwo.
He expressed disappointment with the “attempts by mischief maker to malign Obi by quoting his private conversations with them out of context”.
He reiterated that he never told anyone that Obi was a political conman, leader of the criminal gang in NDC or asked him to give him N10million bribe before securing the party’s ticket.
The aspirant said he never met with Obi, had discussion nor got any monetary demand from him, adding that there was nothing personal in his relationship with the presidential hopeful.
Ohaegbu said the receipt for N10 million payment in favour of NDC being circulated as proof was part of the annexures to the document he filed before the court and could have been obtained by anybody.
“I can tell you emphatically that is not true and that I made those allegations against Obi, I never whispered it to anybody that Obi is a criminal, I never said he asked me to pay N10 million because he never did.
“In doing that I filled all the documents and receipt of payment including that of the N10 million paid to the party, these documents should not be obtained and be presented as classified information.
“The payment receipt is a public document, it is before the court, there is nothing private or classified about it, so there is no evidence of what is being shared, it does address the fact of the issue,” he said.
Ohaegbu said people should not be fixated on Obi or the NDC, advising that opposition should stop attacking themselves.
He said he remained a committed member of NDC and that he would work for his own victory and that of Mr Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate within his Federal Constituency.
“I am sure you listened to the national leader of the party, Sen. Serial Dickson, who on a national Television made it categorically clear that no result of the primaries has been published.”
“So it may not be correct to say that the primaries are concluded, the process is still on and I am in the race for the ticket.
“Regardless of the outcome of the primaries, as much as I can and within the limit of human challenges, will not be right for me to abort the process at this point,” he said. – NAN.
