Former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa has demanded N5 billion in damages and a public apology from African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo over comments he described as defamatory, escalating a growing political dispute linked to allegations surrounding activities within a political party’s South-East leadership.
The demand was conveyed through a letter dated June 11, 2026, written by Udenwa’s counsel, Chief Soronnadi Njoku (SAN), following remarks allegedly made by Okonkwo during a televised interview aired on June 8.
According to the letter, Okonkwo accused Udenwa and other South-East political leaders of extorting aspirants seeking elective positions. The former governor argued that the allegation was false, malicious, and damaging to his reputation.
The legal notice stated that the comments, which were broadcast live and later circulated by several media platforms, portrayed Udenwa as someone who used coercion and violence to obtain money from political aspirants.
“Your defamatory statement against him, accusing him of illegally securing money from aspirants by compulsion and violence, has greatly injured our client in his credit and reputation and portrayed him as a common criminal who abuses his position for personal monetary gains,” the letter stated.
During the television interview, Okonkwo reportedly alleged that Udenwa, alongside other South-East political figures, was involved in collecting money from aspirants. He claimed one of the aspirants provided details of the payments and supporting documentation.
Udenwa, however, rejected the allegations outright and demanded a public retraction within seven days.
His lawyer requested that the apology be published in five national newspapers and aired during prime-time programming on Channels Television.
In addition to the apology, the former governor demanded N5 billion as compensation for reputational damage allegedly caused by the statements.
The legal team warned that failure to comply would result in court action at the appropriate High Court in Imo State, where damages and injunctive reliefs would be sought.
The development comes just days after former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi also issued a similar legal demand against Okonkwo over related allegations.
Responding to Obi’s legal threat earlier in the week, Okonkwo dismissed the allegations against him and maintained that his statements were based on information made available to him.
As of Sunday, Okonkwo had not publicly responded to Udenwa’s latest demand letter. Attention is now shifting to whether the actor-turned-politician will issue a retraction or allow the dispute to proceed to court.
