A former Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Organisation during the 2023 elections, Doyin Okupe, has revealed reasons why he and the Labour Party candidate in the election, Peter Obi, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to Okupe, he and Obi left the PDP because they both agreed and believed that the next President of Nigeria must be a Southerner, preferably an Igbo man from the South-East, but the party was not working in that direction.
Speaking on Monday in a chat with journalists in Lagos, Okupe said his political agreement with Obi, however, ended after President Bola Tinubu won the election and was further affirmed by the courts up to the Supreme Court.
The former presidential media aide said these in reaction to online attacks from supporters of Obi, popularly known as Obidients, who were criticising him on X for dumping their principal and backing the policies of the present administration.
“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.” Okupe said.
Speaking further on why he opted to support Obi for the 2023 presidential election, Okupe said it was time for the presidency to go to the South and that he aligned with the Igbo candidacy since they had not had the opportunity to produce the country’s president before.
The former presidential aide said he didn’t support Obi because he believed the LP candidate was politically superior to him or because of friendship but purely out of principle.
“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.
