Former presidential spokesperson Doyin Okupe has declared he would no longer support former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, following recent comments made by Obi that Okupe found offensive.
Okupe, who had previously served as the director of Obi’s presidential campaign, stepped down from his role due to a court conviction for money laundering and later resigned from the Labour Party after the election. Since then, he has been vocal in his support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Okupe criticized Obi’s recent remarks about the economic challenges facing the South-West, particularly the suggestion that the high cost of essential goods remains unchanged, even with Tinubu, a Yoruba leader, in power.
In the viral clip, Obi stated, “Let us talk about what is happening today. Rice is about N100,000. We are not even sure where we are going to be. ‘It’s our turn,’ ‘he is a Yoruba man’—ask the people in Ogun, here is there any place you people buy bread cheaper?”
Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Okupe expressed his disappointment, interpreting Obi’s words as an affront to Yoruba supporters.
“When Obi made that statement, it insulted us. I am a Yoruba man; I left everything and followed Obi,” Okupe said. “For the first time, Obasanjo left his circle of influence and deviated to support Obi.”
Okupe explained that his initial support for Obi stemmed from a belief in the need for a southern president, with the southeast as a preferred zone. However, Obi’s recent statements have altered his stance.
“I do not regret supporting Peter Obi. But now I cannot do it again. The reason why I did it was because we agreed that a southern president must emerge,” Okupe said. “If all these eminent Yoruba people supported you, why now bring us down publicly? It is wrong.”
Despite his disappointment, Okupe clarified that he harbors no hatred toward Obi and respects his role in Nigerian politics.
“I cannot hate Peter Obi; I am sentimentally attached to Peter Obi. Peter Obi was my project, and I am part and parcel of those who built Peter Obi up. I can’t publicly denigrate that or bring down that house,” he stated.
However, Okupe emphasized that he felt compelled to speak out, given what he saw as an affront to Yoruba supporters, “When the sensibilities of some of us are affected, especially when it becomes a zonal matter, I mean when you call the entire Yoruba race out, I am an elder statesman and primarily a Yoruba man.”
He also sought to clarify Tinubu’s use of the phrase “emilokan,” explaining that Tinubu was addressing a specific audience.
“When Bola Tinubu said emilokan, he was not addressing the nation, he was not addressing a rally, he was addressing APC delegates in the premises of Ogun State government who were going to APC convention that they should vote for him,” Okupe explained.
The interview highlights Okupe’s disillusionment with Obi’s recent statements and his decision to distance himself from the former candidate he once passionately supported.
