Okupe: My commitment to Obi expired after supreme court ruling on presidential election

Doyin Okupe, former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign, says his political relationship with Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate, expired after the supreme court’s ruling on the election. 

Mahmood Yakubu, chair of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), winner of the 2023 presidential election.

Tinubu secured a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat  Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520 votes, while Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes.

In a unanimous decision in October 2023, a seven-member panel of the apex court dismissed the petitions filed by Obi and Abubakar challenging Tinubu’s victory.

In a post via X on Sunday, Okupe said had agreed with Obi never to accept any political appointment from him if he had won the election.

“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,” Okupe wrote.

“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 defected from the Peoples Democratic Party May 2022 —months before the 2023 presidential election.

“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,” Okupe said.

“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.”

Speaking further, Okupe said he supported Obi due to his conviction that the presidency would go to the south.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Okupe resigned hismembership of the LP in January citing “ideological grounds” as the reason for his departure from the party.