News

Former Labour Party Spokesman Kenneth Okonkwo Dumps Party

A former spokesman for the Labour Party’s presidential campaign council, Kenneth Okonkwo has announced his departure from the party and former presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Okonkwo, who joined the party in 2022, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Political Journey to a Great Nigeria’, on Sunday.

The former spokesperson said he decided to leave the LP because the party failed to inspire the brand of leadership that can solve Nigeria’s challenges.

Okonkwo cited his disappointment with the party’s internal crisis and the failure of its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to address it.

While expressing his dedication to a Nigeria built on equity, justice, and fairness, Okonkwo also said that the country’s present political parties—including the Labour Party—lack the necessary skills to take the nation to new heights.

He said, “I am committed, irreversibly, to a great Nigeria built on equity, justice, and fairness, where every citizen will be free and able to aspire to any position or level in life without regard to primordial sentiments built around ethnicity, religion, sex, or circumstances of birth.

“It’s obvious that the APC or PDP, as presently constituted, do not have what it takes to lead us to a great Nigeria. Indeed, their combined leadership is trying to cripple Nigeria as this blessed country is now down economically, politically, and in every other index, leaving the people with no other option than to protest for their survival. They can see no hope for the future.

“Unfortunately, by our Constitution, we need a solid political party with a solid grassroots base to be able to wrestle power from these kakistocrats and kleptocrats. We, therefore, need a decisive leader who will be able to build such a party of integrity and character from the grassroots because, eventually, the majority of the people that will populate a government will proceed from the political party of the leader.”

He compared the party to a political tree that produces the leadership cadre in government, stating that a corrupt tree cannot produce good fruits regardless of the leader’s integrity and intentions.

He attributed Nigeria’s problems to a lack of internal democracy within parties, which leads to the emergence of incompetent and corrupt leaders in government and also emphasized the need for a decisive leader who can build a party of integrity and character from the grassroots.

“We also need a decisive leader who will be selfless enough, in boldness and bravery, to secure our victory, when the people vote for such a leader because these corrupt and incompetent leaders are not willing to conduct free and fair elections and will always grab, snatch power from any weak and indecisive leader, and run away with it. Our judiciary has not proved to be equal to the task of preventing the emergence of electoral bandits who steal electoral victories at gunpoint in the public glare of everyone.

“I am earnestly searching for such a leader who has the integrity and also the commensurate charisma and bravery to mobilise the people to sustain victory if Nigeria votes for such a person. The time for calm down is over.”

Okonkwo added that the current situation in the Labour Party has motivated him to pursue a new political direction, adding that after the 2023 general election, many Nigerians, including himself, had high hopes for the Labour Party

Okonkwo said he believed Peter Obi had the potential to build a strong, integrity-driven party capable of overthrowing corrupt leaders but needed to provide the right directives, and everyone would follow.

Okonkwo said, “I received my first shock when he publicly declared that he didn’t promise Nigerians to build a strong Labour Party, but to solve Nigeria’s problems. I was like, does it mean HE Peter Obi is not aware that without a solid party base, we are heading nowhere politically? However, I continued in his defence believing he would still privately bring the needed solution to LP’s problems. To no avail.

“PO also publicly demanded that the Abure-led National Working Committee must organise an all-inclusive convention that will guarantee the participation of all members of the Labour Party in the choice of their leaders. This didn’t happen, and surprisingly, PO refused to disassociate himself from the shenanigans and criminal activities of the former NWC as their time had expired.”

Okonkwo said that every member of the Labour Party is confused about the party’s future due to a lack of leadership from Peter Obi. He admitted that when members look to him for guidance on Obi’s standpoint, he has nothing to say because he is unaware.

Okonkwo added that he cannot continue to speak on behalf of a leader whose stance on important issues is unknown to him, as he does not know how to manipulate facts.

He added, “I am shocked that PO could not openly support the noble efforts of the Labour Unions who founded the Labour Party as a base to fight for the welfare of workers to the extent that some of them are openly saying that PO is now the problem of LP. The Labour Unions now have an unfortunate situation where they are fighting criminals who want to hijack their party when an ordinary statement from Peter Obi would have brought the solution. I cannot continue with this ambivalence forever.

“I am of course in full support of the Labour Unions and other stakeholders who are now compelled to fight for the soul of LP without the support of PO.

“However, the consequence is that I no longer have the confidence that PO has what it takes to build a party that can win against these kakistocrats and kleptocrats, and above all, he has proved that even if the people vote for him, he doesn’t have what it takes to secure the mandate. I don’t intend to embark on such a campaign as we did in 2023, projecting a person who cannot sustain the victory even if he wins.

“It’s in this regard that I have decided to continue my political journey into the great Nigeria of our vision without Peter Obi. I am always 100% loyal to a leader whenever I am working or following the leader. At any time I have doubts within me that I can no longer offer 100% loyalty to him, I will respectfully let everyone know. When I joined his campaign, I made it public; now that I cannot guarantee my support for his future political aspirations, I believe I owe it to everyone to let them know.”

Okonkwo said the decision to leave the Labour Party has nothing to do with joining the APC or PDP, as he remains committed to the Nigerian people and their aspirations for a better Nigeria.

Lifestyle

Mo Abudu Opens Ebony Life In London

Mo Abudu has opened a London cinema dedicated to African and Black films, saying her experiences growing up in England inspired her to help change perceptions of Africa.Abudu opened EbonyLife Place London on Thursday, 8 October, in south-west London near Nine Elms, with a 160-seat auditorium for films, performances and cultural events. AFP describes it as the UK’s first cinema dedicated exclusively to African and Black films. London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined the opening. The centre will also showcase African food and fashion.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Africa shared on X on Friday, Abudu recalled that when people were asked what came to mind at the word Africa, the answers she heard were “poverty” and babies with flies on their faces. She said those images came largely from what people read in newspapers and saw on television.

Growing up in England, she said, she found herself acting as an ambassador for everything African or Nigerian and was often asked “the most pathetic questions.” She said people sometimes said hurtful things and she learned to swallow them and move on. Racism is real, she said, and the way to deal with it is to offer a different narrative.

She described the cinema as a permanent, round-the-clock home for African and Black films, food and fashion. She stressed that it isn’t meant to keep those films off other platforms, but that because the community is underrepresented, it needs spaces where it feels safe and can share its own content while inviting the rest of the world in. The only way to do that, she said, is to be in charge of the narrative.

Membership will be open to everyone, with no ethnic or nationality restrictions, though details of the scheme have not been announced.

The programme is still being finalised, but Abudu has said it will include films from across Africa and movies that celebrate Black actors and storytelling, alongside the centre’s own productions and the next Black Panther film. She told AFP she would like to open a similar space in Paris, possibly through a partnership.

Celebs

Regina Daniels marks 25th birthday in a wheelchair, having spent months unable to walk

Nollywood actress Regina Daniels has opened up about her health, appearing in a wheelchair in a birthday video in which she said she has spent months unable to move around as she pleases.

In the video posted on Instagram on Saturday, she marked what she called her silver jubilee and asked God for “total calm” in this new phase of her life. She then addressed the sight of her in a wheelchair directly.

“I know many of you may be surprised seeing me in a wheelchair,” she said. “Well, welcome to another chapter of my life.”

She said fans had been asking about her absence from the public eye, and she chose her birthday to answer those who genuinely care.

According to the actress, she has lost her freedom to move around as she pleases for several months. She said it began as something minor before getting worse, and that things took a major turn after the last public gathering she hosted, her children’s day carnival. Regina said the pain became excruciating. Some days she could walk well, she said, and on others she could not move at all. She said she cried and turned to God for healing.

Her tone then lifted as she said she was speaking because of some really significant developments in her recovery and thanked God. She did not say what condition she has, what caused it, or what treatment she is receiving.

News

Wike’s son accused of collecting $2.1 million for land in Abuja

Jordan Ezenwo Nyesom-Wike, son of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, is facing a civil suit over an alleged $2.1 million land deal gone wrong, with the claimants saying most of that money was intended for his father.

According to court filings, two men say they met Jordan in London and later reconnected with him in Abuja, where they asked for his help securing 60 hectares of land split between Katampe and Guzape. They claim Jordan told them the facilitation fee would come to $2.1 million: $2 million of it earmarked for the minister himself, and $100,000 as Jordan’s own cut.

The claimants say they handed over the full amount on 26 September 2025, at a property in Gwarimpa, Abuja, with several named witnesses present. They allege that after the money changed hands, they got no land and no refund, and Jordan stopped responding to them.

Jordan’s defence hinges on a single detail: he says he wasn’t even in the country that day. Under cross-examination at the FCT High Court in Maitama, he told the court he was on a British Airways flight from Abuja to London on 26 September 2025, the exact date the claimants say the payment was made. He also denies signing any acknowledgment of receipt for the money, calling the signature on the document a forgery.

The exchange prompted the claimants’ lawyer to ask the court to compel Jordan to produce his American passport, to check it against his travel claim, and to write out his name and signature five times on a plain sheet of paper for comparison. Justice Sylvanus Oriji granted both requests. Jordan produced the passport the following day; the court has not yet ruled on whether his account of his whereabouts holds up.

Jordan has said he flagged the allegations himself, in a letter to his father and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission back in November 2025.

The case has since drawn wider attention. Rights lawyer Chidi Odinkalu has called on Justice Oriji to step aside from the case over family and professional ties, while the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has urged the EFCC and ICPC to open an independent investigation rather than wait for the civil case to conclude.