‘Profound loss’ — Peter Obi pays tribute to Doyin Okupe

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has mourned the death of Doyin Okupe.

Okupe, who died on Friday at the age of 72, after a prolonged battle with cancer, served as special assistant on media and publicity to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and later as senior special assistant on public affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2023, he became the director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign, but resigned his membership in January 2024 — about 10 months after the general election.

However, in November 2024, Okupe said he would no longer support Obi, who was the flag bearer of the LP in the last election.

In a post on X on Friday, Obi commiserate with the family of the late former presidential aide, urging his supporters — ‘Obidients’ — to pray for the repose of his soul.

“With great sadness this morning, I received the shocking news of the death of my dear elder brother, Dr. Doyin Okupe. On behalf of the family and the Obidient family, I sincerely mourn his passing,” Obi wrote on X.

“Dr. Okupe was an active figure in the nation’s political space and a man who desired a better Nigeria.

“His death is a profound loss – not only to his family and loved ones but to all of us.

“I would therefore like to urge members of the Obidient Movement and other groups to pray for the eternal repose of Dr. Okupe’s soul and to remember his family during these trying times.

“May God Almighty, who called him home, grant him eternal rest and grant his family, and all of us, the fortitude to bear this sad and irreplaceable loss.”

Okupe was born in Iperu, Ogun state, on March 22, 1952. He earned his medical degree from the University of Ibadan in Oyo state.