“I’m still full-fledged member of Labour Party” : Kenneth Okonkwo makes U-turn

• He berated the media station over report that he has left the Labour Party, saying there was nowhere he announced his exit from the party in the statement he released

Veteran Nollywood actor and politician Kenneth Okonkwo says reports claiming he has left the Labour Party are false.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday, Okonkwo said he’s still a full-fledged member of the party.

He berated the media station over report that he has left the Labour Party, saying there was nowhere he announced his exit from the party in the statement he released.

“First of all, let me say I am embarrassed by your comment. I am just hearing it from your media station that I dumped the Labour Party. And I put up the statement that I made so that I wouldn’t be misconstrued. So, where did you get that from? It’s not certainly from the statement that I made. I am still a full-fledged member of the Labour Party,” he stated.

When asked if he’s still a member of the Labour Party, he replied in the affirmative: “Yes, absolutely.”

He also said there is crisis in the Labour Party as relates to the NWC because the convention it had wasn’t all-inclusive.

Okonkwo continued: “There’s no crisis in the Labour Party as it relates to me. There’s crisis in the Labour Party as relates to the NWC, which failed to organise an all-inclusive convention. And I thought that the leader ought to have taken a decisive decision to ensure, having seen that the convention did not hold against his instruction, that there’s an organised and all-inclusive convention according to court judgement and past agreement.”

Okonkwo, a chieftain of the Labour Party, had announced his decision to severe ties with Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate, as well as the party, due to concerns over Obi’s leadership style and inability to confront national issues.

He also questioned Obi’s ability to secure electoral victories and confront the country’s ‘kakistocrats’ and ‘kleptocrats’ head-on.

The veteran actor emphasised that he needed a more decisive, bold, and brave leader with integrity and team spirit to achieve his vision for Nigeria