Lawyer and Nollywood actor Kenneth Okonkwo has said that his plan is to support a Northern presidential candidate in the 2027 general election.
Okonkwo, a member of the Labour Party and part of the coalition team which recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said he has a few conditions for the North to field a presidential candidate.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the lawyer and ally to Peter Obi, said the candidate who would be fielded from the Northern region must be qualified to govern the nation.
He said, “My own strategy this time around is that I am going to support a Northerner in 2027. Yes! And it must be… My condition to the Northerners is that it must be a Northerner whom the whole North will be willing to support.”
When asked by the interviewer if such a Northern candidate could be Atiku Abubakar, the lawyer said, “If the whole North is ready to support an Atiku, why not?”
Atiku, a former vice president of Nigeria hails from Adamawa in the Northeastern part of Nigeria.
He is a two-time presidential candidate under the People Democratic Party (PDP) but has since led the campaign for a coalition aimed at ousting President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress from power in 2027.
Okonkwo when also asked if he could support Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Sokoto State, he responded, “If the whole North is willing to support him, why not?”
Continuing, the lawyer said the candidate of choice must, however, be qualified, and must have experience among others.
“The person must be qualified, must have experience, and if he has experience in the presidency, that’s an added advantage and when you put up anything from the South, that would push him through.
Addressing the issue of power rotation at the national level, Okonkwo said, “Let me use this opportunity to clarify, the term of the president is four years, not eight years.
“According to Alex Ekwueme, what they agreed initially is that this ought to be rotated among the geopolitical zones, for a four-year term. And in 24 years it would have been completed,” he added.
