Doyin Okupe named Obi’s running mate

Doyin Okupe,  a former senior special assistant on public affairs to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, says his name has been submitted as the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party.

Okupe confirmed the development to TheCable on Friday.

Speaking further in an interview with Channels Television on Friday night, the former presidential aide said he will be “standing in” as the running mate to Peter Obi, vice-presidential candidate of the party.

“Naturally, we comply with the electoral body and in doing so, we believe that choosing the vice-presidential candidate is part of the electoral process. And you will understand that Mr. Peter Obi came into the Labour Party on the 29th of May, which is exactly three weeks ago,” he said.

“Therefore, our idea and our reasoning is to bring together in the country, and for the first time, the largest political coalition possible, because we are facing two political giants — APC, PDP. And we are serious about upstaging them and we will.

“But to do that, we cannot do it alone. We need to be able to put together this coalition and the so-called third force is now alive, and it is forming, and it is important for us to ensure that all the stakeholders are carried along from the beginning to the end.

“So, because of this, I, Dr. Doyin Okupe, am standing in as the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party.”

The development comes amid the June 17 deadline issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for parties to submit the list of their candidates for the 2023 general polls.