Popular Nollywood actor and politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has opined that the reason opposition politicians are defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is because they plan to use state institutions to rig the 2027 election.
The former spokesman of Obi/Datti Campaign Organization said under a free and fair election the ruling party, APC, would not get any vote from the citizens.
He stated this on Monday in an interview with Arise TV. Okonkwo claimed that the result of 2023 election did not reflect what happened at the polling units across the country on election days.
The Nollywood legend explained that it would be impossible to play opposition in Nigeria with its current electoral system
“Do you play ruling party or opposition party in a country where there is no election at all? What I mean is that I was a spokesperson in 2023 election and I will say unequivocally that 2023 election did not reflect anything that was done on the ground.
“Till today, has INEC shown polling unit results by polling unit of the presidential election 2023? The law says that’s what they should do. Section 62, subsection 2 and 3 of the Electoral Act, have they shown that?” Okonkwo asked.
He alleged that politicians defecting to APC want the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to work for them in 2027.
The former APC chieftain emphasized that unless INEC conducts free and fair elections, opposition parties would remain docile.
“Now, the opposition are moving into the ruling party, not because they want to. As a matter of fact, because they need the ruling party in order to use INEC and the security agencies to rig election. In a free and fair election, no one person will near APC with a long rope.
“Except we begin to do a free, fair, credible and verifiable election, there is nothing like ruling party or opposition party. Because that is the pillar of democracy. What the opposition is doing is that they are running into the ruling party, so that they will use the state apparatus of power to rig election 2027,” he stated.
