Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, has joined the Labour Party (LP), about one month after he left the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Okonkwo resigned from the APC on 11 July over the party’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket. The presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, a Southern Muslim, recently picked Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno State and Northern Muslim, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.
The actor announced his defection to the LP in a series of Instagram posts on Wednesday. Mr Okonkwo said he was joining the LP to help enthrone good governance and achieve a new Nigeria. He said the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is the symbol of the new Nigeria and called on all Nigerians to support the former governor to emerge the country’s president in 2023.
“It was an honour and a privilege to be welcomed into the Labour Party on the 23rd of August, 2022, at the Supreme God House, Apo, Abuja, by the entire executive of the FCT Labour Party, representing the National Executive of the party,” he said.
The actor attached some photographs of himself and some LP officials as he was being welcomed into the party.
“I feel loved and cherished by the visit of these distinguished officials of this people-centric party to our chambers which culminated in my officially joining the Labour Party as a member,” Mr Okonkwo stated.
He said his membership of the LP would help him to contribute to working for the emergence of Mr Obi as Nigeria’s president in 2023. Mr Okonkwo thanked the Dynamics Ambassadors for Peter Obi (DAPO) for facilitating his defection to the party. The actor is the national spokesperson of DAPO, a political group canvassing support for the LP candidate.
“I am passionate for a new Nigeria and I will stop at nothing to see it come to pass,” he added.
He said although Nigeria is “so blessed” but regretted that the country had been “battered by bad leaders”.
In 2019, the ‘Living in Bondage’ actor explained the rationale behind joining the APC, which has shaky roots in South-east Nigeria.
In an interview with BBC Igbo, he said that he told Igbo people to join the All APC in 2019 to get a chance at fixing what he termed as “16 years of misrule”.
He said Nigeria needs a president of Igbo extraction to fix the South-east and engender political inclusion.
