My political commitment to Obi ended after Tinubu’s victory — Okupe

A former Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Organisation of the Labour Party, Dr Doyin Okupe, has stated that his relationship with the party’s candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, ended immediately after President Bola Tinubu emerged.

Okupe also mentioned that he had agreed with Obi never to accept any political appointment from him upon his emergence.

The former presidential spokesperson made these remarks to journalists in Lagos on Monday to ward off insults from Obi supporters, popularly known as Obidients, who were criticising him on X for backing the policies of the present administration.

According to him, those abusing and insulting him for supporting Tinubu’s economic recovery plan are ignorant, stressing that Nigeria’s project is bigger than that of any individual or political party.

He said, “I supported Peter Obi out of a commitment to patriotism and nationalistic fervour, not because I don’t know who I am in national politics or where I come from. I told Peter Obi, and we both agreed, that I would not hold any position in his government if he won. Obi is alive, kindly verify. If it is not true, let Obi publicly say that I am lying.

“Obi and I left the PDP because we both agreed and believed that the next President must be a Southerner, preferably an Igbo man from the South-East. Unfortunately, we lost that election. Another Southerner, Bola Tinubu, won the election. This is God’s will. He gives power to whom He wishes. My political commitment and agreement with Obi ended and expired there. I am too experienced in this game of politics for my subsequent political disposition and destiny to be tied to Obi’s ambition. Impossible.

“For me, that cooperation ended with the Supreme Court judgment, right or wrong. There must be order in a society.

To me, the allegations of rigging do not hold water. All elections in Nigeria from the 1st Republic to date have been rigged in one way or another, except perhaps Abiola’s election. In America today, the majority of Republicans believe the election that brought Biden in as POTUS was rigged. However, the Americans did not bring down their country because of that. They patiently waited for the next election and are making efforts to correct the imperfections.”

Providing insights into his reasons for supporting Obi from the beginning, the LP’s former campaign DG maintained that he was convinced that the presidency was going to the South and that he aligned with the Igbo candidacy since they had not had the opportunity before in the country’s history.

“I was convinced in my heart that if the presidency was going to the South, then it must be an Igbo man from the South-East because I believe in equity and justice. You can also verify this with Papa Adebanjo. He is still alive. I did not support Obi because he was politically superior to me or because he was a friend or an associate.

“My unalloyed support and commitment to Obi was based on principle. Throughout my period as a DG campaign, I used my own car and never received one naira from Obi as a salary. It was a mutual friend who funded me personally throughout. This can be verified. In difficult times, I borrowed a substantial amount of money to ensure our zonal campaign in the South-West was a grand success. I was refunded by Peter Obi months later.

“You (Obidients) all hailed, praised, and honoured me because, in your understanding, you believed I was just a foolish politician who left his comfort zone to come and help you fulfil your own agenda. You were all wrong,” he added.

Okupe further stated that he was not narrow-minded when he was a critic and that Obidients should adopt a similar approach in the future.