Former presidential spokesperson and prominent Nigerian political figure, Doyin Okupe, has declared that he will no longer support Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State and recent presidential candidate.
Okupe, who once served as the director of Obi’s presidential campaign, stated that recent comments made by Obi on the country’s economic situation, which referenced the Yoruba people, had deeply hurt him.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Monday, Okupe explained that Obi’s remarks, which appeared to critique the notion of “it’s our turn” in Nigerian politics, offended him as a Yoruba man who had once devoted his time to Obi’s cause.
“When Obi made that statement, it insulted us,” Okupe said bluntly. “I am a Yoruba man; I left everything and followed Obi.”
Okupe, who had resigned from the Labour Party after a court conviction forced him to step down from Obi’s campaign, has since been a vocal supporter of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Okupe referenced a viral clip in which Obi questioned whether the economic conditions in the South-West had improved since Tinubu, who is also from the region, became president. Obi asked if people in Ogun State were buying bread or rice at cheaper prices just because Tinubu hailed from the area.
Obi’s words struck a nerve with Okupe, who felt that they unfairly targeted the Yoruba community.
“For the first time, Obasanjo left his circle of influence and deviated to support Obi,” Okupe said. “If all these eminent Yoruba people supported you, why now bring us down publicly? It is wrong.”
Despite his feelings of betrayal, Okupe clarified that he holds no personal animosity toward Obi and will never publicly denigrate him.
“I cannot hate Peter Obi; I am sentimentally attached to Peter Obi,” Okupe admitted. “Peter Obi was my project, and I am part and parcel of those who built Peter Obi up.”
Okupe’s relationship with Obi began during the latter’s presidential campaign, where Okupe became one of his key advocates, rallying significant support for Obi across Nigeria, including among the Yoruba people.
However, Okupe felt that Obi’s comments had struck a divisive chord, calling attention to regional identities in a way that Okupe found inappropriate.
“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,” Okupe remarked passionately.
Okupe insisted that his criticism was not intended to harm Obi’s reputation but rather to defend the pride of his Yoruba heritage, which he feels was slighted by Obi’s statement.
“If I cannot speak the truth at my age, then there is no point to live,” he said firmly.
Okupe also addressed the popular phrase “emilokan” (meaning “it’s my turn”) famously associated with President Tinubu during his campaign. According to Okupe, Tinubu’s use of the phrase was never meant for the entire nation but was directed at APC delegates in Ogun State.
“When Bola Tinubu said emilokan, he was not addressing the nation,” Okupe clarified. “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’s remarks have added a new dimension to the ongoing discourse surrounding Peter Obi’s impact on Nigeria’s political landscape and his relationship with influential figures like Okupe, who once stood firmly in his corner.
Okupe concluded by acknowledging the complexities of supporting a politician like Obi, who he once saw as a promising candidate for a Southern presidency.
“I do not regret supporting Peter Obi,” he said. “But now I cannot do it again. The reason why I did it was because we agreed that a southern president must emerge.”
