Former Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Peter Ameh, has dismissed claims by former Labour Party spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, that Peter Obi is reluctant to participate in party primaries.
Ameh made the remarks during an interview on Symfoni TV aired on Saturday, May 9, 2026, while responding to comments credited to Okonkwo regarding Obi’s exit from the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
During the interview, the presenter referenced Okonkwo’s statement that Obi had been “economical” with the reasons behind his departure from the coalition and alleged that the former Anambra State governor had “a morbid fear of contesting primaries.”
Reacting to the claim, Ameh questioned Okonkwo’s consistency in his public political positions, stating that the former Labour Party spokesperson had previously expressed differing views about Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
He said, “You see, people have talked about maintaining, being consistent in what you say. At one time, Kenneth said Obi was the best. At one time, he said Atiku had a criminal past and used money to buy primaries. And another time, he’s back to Atiku. I’ve never done such life.”
Ameh said he had remained consistent in his own political positions over the years, adding that he does not publicly attack political figures he once supported: “I’ve always been consistent. If I’m supporting Obi, I support. If I’m not supporting, you will never hear that I supported the person. Or I go back to talk about the people. I don’t bring leaders to TV to talk about them. What I do is principle.”
The former IPAC chairman also argued that Okonkwo may not have full knowledge of Obi’s political history and experience with internal party contests. “And I think that Kenneth is not right. And maybe he does not have the information. Because I know he recently joined on politics,” Ameh said.
He added, “And he was able to be appointed as one of the spokesmen. And that’s what gave him the popularity that he has today.” Ameh further cited Obi’s experience during his time in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), saying the former governor had previously emerged victorious in a competitive primary election.
“But for some of us who’ve been here, I know the primaries that were brought to be up in APGA was widely contested, was strongly contested. It was even done by option A4. Obi won. So I don’t know what to mention,” he stated.
