A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Okonkwo, has said the exit of Peter Obi from the party left the South-East region disadvantaged and thrown into confusion during the process that led to the emergence of Rotimi Amaechi as the party’s vice presidential candidate.
Okonkwo spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, while responding to questions on why Amaechi is yet to publicly acknowledge his vice presidential candidacy on his social media pages, and why Okonkwo’s position appeared to have shifted after Atiku Abubakar nominated him as spokesperson, despite his earlier reservations that the former Vice President did not pick someone from the South-East.
He explained that before the ADC presidential primary, a person representing the South-East had shown interest in the race but exited the process before its conclusion, a development he said left the region “disadvantaged and confused.”
He maintained that Obi’s exit created a vacancy that could not easily be filled because the Electoral Act bars parties from picking running mates who were not party members at least 21 days before the primary, ruling out names such as Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
